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Sodium benzoate intake in beverages may contribute to ADHD symptoms in college students
Author(s) -
Beezhold Bonnie,
Johnston Carol S
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.632.5
Subject(s) - sodium benzoate , quartile , medicine , population , soft drink , confidence interval , environmental health , food science , chemistry , pathology
Adolescents and young adults are the heaviest consumers of soft drinks in the U.S. population, consuming approximately 8% of their total daily energy intake from soft drinks. Recent research has demonstrated a link between sodium benzoate, a major preservative found in many soft drinks, juices, and coffee syrups, and attention deficit symptoms in children. Up to 8% of the American college population report clinically significant levels of ADHD symptoms. We surveyed 473 college students (125 males/326 females) about their intake of major sources of sodium benzoate over the last month, and assessed the presence of attention deficit symptoms using a brief validated ADHD screener. Prior to analysis, 22 participants with a psychiatric diagnosis or use of psychotropic therapy were removed. Sodium benzoate intake (SBI) was positively correlated with the ADHD screener score (n=451, r=.217, p=.000); controlling for age and BMI which were correlated with ADHD scores did not impact this relationship. Moreover, ADHD scores of students in the fourth quartile of SBI were significantly greater than for students in the first quartile (p=.002) and third quartile (p=.035) of intake. College students who consume a high quantity of soft drinks, coffee drinks and other major sources of sodium benzoate may be a vulnerable population for ADHD symptoms. This study was funded by the Nutrition Research Fund of the ASU Foundation.