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WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2018 – Chemicals used to cure meats like sausage and hot dogs may be badociated with a mood disorder called mania, researchers report.
These chemicals, called nitrates, are often added to processed meats to prevent the growth of bacteria.
"There is growing evidence that germs in the intestines can influence the brain," said Dr. Robert Yolken, lead author of the study. "This work on nitrates opens the door to future studies on how this can happen."
Yolken is a professor of neurovirology in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
His colleagues and he badyzed data from more than 1000
The researchers found that people hospitalized for an episode of mania (hyperactivity, euphoria and insomnia) were 3.5 times more likely to have eaten nitrate salted meats than those who had no history of mental disorders.
Other research has also shown that rats exhibit manic-like behavior after eating foods containing nitrates for only a few weeks. In addition, these rats had different patterns of intestinal bacteria from non-nitrate-fed rats.
Mania usually occurs in people with bipolar disorder, but can also occur with schizoaffective disorder. Mania can include delusional thinking and lead to dangerous risk-taking behavior.
The study can not prove that nitrates in foods actually cause mania because only one badociation has been observed. And the authors pointed out that eating salty meat occasionally will probably not trigger a manic episode in most people.
Still, the results suggest that more work on this potential link is warranted, according to the researchers.
on this badociation could lead to dietary interventions to help reduce the risk of manic episodes in people with bipolar disorder or who are otherwise vulnerable to mania, "said Yolken in a university press release
Seva Khambadkone, badociate researcher at Johns Hopkins, says mania is a complex mental state.
"Genetic vulnerabilities and environmental factors are probably implicated in the emergence and severity of bipolar disorder and disorders. badociated manic episodes, "said Khambadkone, MD / Ph.D.
" Our results suggest that nitrated salted meat could be an environmental player in the mediation of mania, "she said. [19659002] The study was published July 18 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.It was funded in part by the National Institute of Mental Health of the United States
Nitrates have already been linked to certain cancers and neurodegenerative diseases, the study authors said in documentary notes.
Health has more about mania.
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