Associations of depressive symptoms with serum proportions of palmitic and arachidonic acids, and α-tocopherol effects among male population – A preliminary study

• Published in: Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) Scotland), 2013-04, Vol.32 (2), p.289-293
• Main Authors: Tsuboi, Hirohito, Watanabe, Misuzu, Kobayashi, Fumio, Kimura, Kazuko, Kinae, Naohide
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; alpha-tocopherol; alpha-Tocopherol - blood; Arachidonic acid; Arachidonic Acids - blood; Biological and medical sciences; blood serum; computer software; correlation; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression; Depression - blood; Depression - diagnosis; Depressive symptoms; docosahexaenoic acid; Docosahexaenoic Acids - blood; eicosapentaenoic acid; Eicosapentaenoic Acid - blood; epidemiological studies; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Humans; inflammation; Japan; Life Style; Male; Medical sciences; Men; mental depression; Miscellaneous; Mood disorders; n-3 Poly-unsaturated fatty acid; omega-3 fatty acids; oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Palmitic acid; Palmitic Acid - blood; protective effect; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Surveys and Questionnaires; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; α-Tocopherol
• ISSN: 0261-5614; 1532-1983
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2012.07.011

Summary Background & aims Recent years, inflammation and oxidative stress have been addressed in relation to interactions between fatty acid (FA) and depression. To study the associations between FAs and depressive symptoms in men, serum FA proportion was compared with perceived depression. We also measured α-tocopherol (a-Toc) levels to investigate the associations with FA functions. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed on 113 male workers recruited from a software development company in Japan. Depressive symptoms were assessed according to the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Twenty-four FAs in the serum from the peripheral blood were examined. Results CES-D scores were significantly positively correlated with the serum percentage of palmitic acid (PA), while they were negatively correlated with arachidonic acid (AA). The CES-D scores were not correlated with the serum ratio of docosahexaenoic acid or eicosapentaenoic acid (n-3 poly-unsaturated FAs (PUFAs)). CES-D scores were significantly negatively correlated with a-Toc/PA ratio (correlation: adjusting for possible confounders). Conclusions Although no associations were found between depressive symptoms and n-3 PUFA proportions in male population, depressive symptoms were positively correlated with PA percentages and negatively correlated with AA percentages. PA may increase neural vulnerability and AA may decrease the severity of depression. Moreover, a-Toc may have protective effects against depressive symptoms.