{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:44:02Z","timestamp":1760060642799,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,9]],"date-time":"2025-09-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1757376000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Italian Ministry of Health"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Emerging evidence suggests the critical role of diet in shaping mental health outcomes, which are increasingly prevalent among children and adolescents worldwide. This study aims to investigate whether the dietary habits of children in the Italian multicenter Piccolipi\u00f9 birth cohort at four years of age were associated with anxiety and depression symptoms. This analysis was conducted within the framework of the Global burden of disease Lifestyle And mental Disorder (GLAD) Project (DERR2-10.2196\/65576). Methods: Data from 1726 children were analyzed. Emotional symptoms were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and diet was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Sociodemographic data, including per capita income, were also collected. Associations between food intake (grams per day) and clinical anxiety\/depression (T-scores &gt; 70) or total symptom scores were examined using univariate and multivariable logistic and robust linear regressions adjusted for sex and income. Results: In 1726 children (median age 4.4 years; 50% female), 3% exhibited clinical anxiety and 2% clinical depression. Higher grain intake was associated with increased odds of clinical anxiety (OR = 1.004; 95% CI: 1.001\u20131.007), while greater fish consumption reduced odds of clinical depression (OR = 0.946; 95% CI: 0.903\u20130.992). Vegetable intake was associated with lower anxiety and depression scores. Multivariable analyses confirmed that grain intake is positively associated with anxiety, while fish consumption is inversely associated with depression. Conclusions: Higher intake of vegetables, fruits, and fish may be associated with better emotional health in preschoolers, although effect sizes were modest. Early dietary interventions may offer a practical approach to improving children\u2019s long-term mental health. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these associations and clarify underlying mechanisms.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu17182909","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,9]],"date-time":"2025-09-09T08:40:15Z","timestamp":1757407215000},"page":"2909","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Association Between Diet and Emotional Symptoms in Early Childhood: Cross-Sectional Results from the Piccolipi\u00f9 Cohort"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6777-2924","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Federica","family":"Concina","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health Research Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4949-3219","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giulia","family":"Zamagni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health Research Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-2327-9031","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eleonora","family":"Maurel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health Research Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9608-6544","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Claudia","family":"Carletti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health Research Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4504-6371","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessandra","family":"Knowles","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health Research Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1850-3015","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Martina","family":"Culasso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology, Lazio Regional Health Service-ASL ROMA1, 00154 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9544-6472","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Franca","family":"Rusconi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mother and Child Health, Azienda USL Toscana Nord Ovest, 56121 Pisa, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4500-6572","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maja","family":"Popovic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5710-3914","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luca","family":"Ronfani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health Research Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7774-548X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lorenzo","family":"Monasta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health Research Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Deborah N.","family":"Ashtree","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IMPACT (The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation), Food & Mood Centre, School of Medicine, Barwon Health, Deakin University, Geelong 3220, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Paola","family":"Pani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health Research Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2503277","DOI":"10.1080\/09581596.2025.2503277","article-title":"Association between Long-Term Consumption Trajectories of Various Foods and the Risk of Anxiety and Depression in Chinese Children","volume":"35","author":"Zhang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Crit. 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