Research The role of two dietary factors in depressive symptoms in US youth, among urban African American adolescents vulnerable to poor diet and depression

• Contribution of sodium, potassium in depression symptoms.
• Is gender a factor?
• Best levels of sodium and potassium to curb depression.
• High sodium consumption equals high symptoms (Mrug et al., 2019).
• low potassium consumption equals high symptoms.
• Diet-based interventions to provide solution.
• The study investigated the relationship between sodium and potassium levels in excretes and depressive symptoms. The study took place in an urban setting among the low-income earners and the focus was adolescents. It also examined whether gender was a factor in the relationships. The results of the study indicated that higher levels of sodium in excretion indicated greater depression symptoms(Mrug, 2016). Contrastingly, lower levels of potassium in excretion indicated higher levels of depression. Besides, there were no differences when gender was considered. Therefore, the study concluded that consuming food that has high sodium levels but with low levels of potassium escalates the development of depressive symptoms in the early stages of adolescents. Likewise, diet appeared to be a modifiable risk factor in the development of depression among adolescents. The study recommended that depressive symptoms can be controlled by focusing on the quantity of sodium and potassium in the diet.
• Research Question/Objective/Aim
  Aim: The role of two dietary factors in depressive symptoms in US youth, among urban African American adolescents vulnerable to poor diet and depression (Mrug et al., 2019).