Abstract:
Higher fruit and vegetable intake has been associated with improved mood, greater vitality, and lower stress. Although the nutrients driving these benefits are not specifically identified, one potentially important micronutrient is vitamin C, an important co-factor for the production of peptide hormones, carnitine and neurotransmitters that are involved in regulation of physical energy and mood. The aim of our study was to investigate the cross-sectional relationship between blood plasma vitamin C status and mood, vitality and perceived stress. A sample of 419 university students (aged 18 to 35; 67.8% female) of various ethnicities (49.2% European, 16.2% East Asian, 8.1% Southeast/Other Asian, 9.1% Māori/Pasifika, 11.5% Other) provided a fasting blood sample to determine vitamin C status and completed psychological measures consisting of the Profile of Mood States Short Form (POMS-SF), the vitality subscale of the Rand 36-Item Short Form (SF-36), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Participants were screened for prescription medication, smoking history, vitamin C supplementation, fruit/juice and vegetable consumption, kiwifruit allergies, excessive alcohol consumption and serious health issues, and provided age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status information, which served as covariates. There were no significant associations between vitamin C status and the psychological measures for the sample overall. However, associations varied by ethnicity. Among Māori/Pasifika participants, higher vitamin C was associated with greater vitality and lower stress, whereas among Southeast Asian participants, higher vitamin C was associated with greater confusion on the POMS-SF subscale. These novel findings demonstrate potential ethnicity-linked differences in the relationship between vitamin C and mental states. Further research is required to determine whether genetic variation or cultural factors are driving these ethnicity differences.
摘要:
较高的水果和蔬菜摄入量与改善情绪有关,更大的活力,和较低的压力。虽然驱动这些好处的营养素没有被明确确定,一种潜在的微量营养素是维生素C,产生肽激素的重要辅助因子,肉碱和神经递质参与调节体力和情绪。我们研究的目的是调查血浆维生素C状态与情绪之间的横截面关系,活力和感知压力。不同种族的419名大学生(18至35岁;67.8%为女性)(49.2%的欧洲人,东亚16.2%,8.1%东南亚/其他亚洲,9.1%毛利人/Pasifika,11.5%其他)提供了空腹血液样本,以确定维生素C状态和完成的心理措施,包括情绪状态简表(POMS-SF),兰德36项简表(SF-36)的活力分量表,和感知压力量表(PSS)。参与者接受了处方药筛查,吸烟史,补充维生素C,水果/果汁和蔬菜消费,猕猴桃过敏,过度饮酒和严重的健康问题,并提供年龄,性别,种族,和社会经济地位信息,作为协变量。总体上,维生素C状态与样本的心理测量之间没有显着关联。然而,协会因种族而异。在毛利人/Pasifika参与者中,较高的维生素C与更高的活力和更低的压力有关,而在东南亚参与者中,较高的维生素C与POMS-SF分量表上的更大混淆相关.这些新发现证明了维生素C与精神状态之间的潜在种族相关差异。需要进一步的研究来确定遗传变异或文化因素是否正在驱动这些种族差异。