{
  "abstract": "Background: This study assessed the association between serum ascorbic acid and zinc levels and depressive symptoms in young Ecuadorian adults. Methods: A case–control study was conducted among individuals aged 18–34 years. A total of 88 young adults were included based on PHQ-9 scores: 44 with moderately severe-to-severe depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥ 15) and 44 with lower depressive symptom severity (PHQ-9 < 15). Serum samples were collected to measure ascorbic acid and zinc concentrations. We also collected sociodemographic data, sleep patterns, and self-reported frequency of consumption of vitamin C- and zinc-rich foods. Results: Low serum ascorbic acid (<0.30 mg/dL) was observed in 75% of individuals with PHQ-9 ≥ 15 and 43.2% of those with PHQ-9 < 15 (p = 0.002). Multivariable analysis showed that each 0.1 mg/dL decrease in serum ascorbic acid (aOR = 1.78; 95% CI: 1.25–2.66; p < 0.001) were associated with higher odds of moderately severe-to-severe depressive symptoms. In crude analyses, sleeping less than 6 h (OR = 3.75; 95% CI: 1.47–10.03; p = 0.005) and going to bed after midnight (OR = 3.59; 95% CI: 1.48–9.16; p = 0.004) were associated with higher odds of moderately severe-to-severe depressive symptoms. Lower self-reported frequency of consumption of vitamin C-rich foods was also associated with higher depressive symptom severity. Zinc levels showed no significant association. Conclusions: Our results show that lower serum ascorbic acid levels are significantly associated with depressive symptoms in young adults. Healthy sleep patterns and more frequent consumption of vitamin C-rich foods were more common in young adults with lower depressive symptom severity.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, , Portoviejo 130105, Manabí, Ecuador; (S.B.G.E.); (S.M.C.-M.); (G.J.S.-M.)",
    "Carrera de Medicina, Campus Portoviejo, , Portoviejo 130105, Manabí, Ecuador;",
    "Departamento de Formación y Desarrollo Científico en Ingeniería, Facultad de Ingeniería, Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins, Santiago 8370993, Chile;",
    "Department of Biochemistry, Center of Biological Sciences, , Florianópolis 88040-900, Santa Catarina, Brazil;"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shirley Bethzabe Guamán Espinoza"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sara María Cantos-Macías"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Luis Fabricio Cordova Reyes"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ginger Jamileth Santana-Moreira"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Karime Montes-Escobar"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Ana Lúcia S. Rodrigues"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Aline Siteneski"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7115dwa66w30v.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/medsci14060646",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13706711/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "7115dwa66w30v",
  "issns": [
    "2076-3271"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13706711",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "lcc",
      "R"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2916|Trace Elements in Health"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221073556",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13706711/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13706711",
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7115dwa66w30v.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:21:40Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13706711",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13706711"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T14:21:33Z",
      "native_id": "0872b65639144c3c9b3322194a23d832",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3390/medsci14060646"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "lcc:R",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Association of Serum Ascorbic Acid and Zinc Levels with Depressive Symptoms in Young Ecuadorian Adults: A Case–Control Study",
  "title_text": "Association of Serum Ascorbic Acid and Zinc Levels with Depressive Symptoms in Young Ecuadorian Adults: A Case–Control Study",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-31T14:21:33Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7115dwa66w30v",
  "venue": "Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland)",
  "versions": []
}