Coffee May Avert Depression in Women

According to the results of a new scientific investigation, women who consumed between two and three cups of coffee per day were, on average, 15 percent less likely to begin developing depression.

The study, which spanned a 10-year period, revolved exclusively on women who consumed caffeinated coffee. Interestingly enough, the control group against which the risk improvement was calculated was made up of women who drank only one cup of coffee per day, or not at all.

Researchers say that their work was not able to establish a direct, causal link between the two. What it did was demonstrate that the incidence of depression is lower in women who consume more coffee. This association needs to be examined in more detail, the team says.

Harvard University School of Public Health scientists conducted the investigation on more than 50,000 women in the US. They say that this is the largest study of this type ever conducted, LiveScience reports.

In past studies, researchers have demonstrated that moderate coffee consumption is associated with a decreased risk of suicide among predisposed individuals. The new findings are in tune with previous discoveries, hinting again at the benefits of caffeine on the human body, if consumed with moderation.

In other studies, drinking coffee has been linked to a decrease in people's risks of developing breast or prostate cancer, or suffering a debilitating stroke. Yet other studies demonstrated a link between caffeine consumption and a delay in the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

“Taken together, these results reassure coffee drinkers that there seem to exist no glaringly deleterious health consequences to coffee consumption,” investigator Dr. Seth Berkowitz explains. He is the author of an editor's note that was published alongside the new study.

The work appears in the September 26 issue of the esteemed journal Archives of Internal Medicine. Berkowitz explains that doctors should however refrain from prescribing coffee to their patients for the time being, since the correlation has only been discovered, and its causality directions remain a mystery.

“Women should aim for a healthy balance in diet, stress reduction and exercise and be mindful of depression symptoms that require help from health professionals,” explains Emma Robertson-Blackmore, who was not a part of the study.

She holds an appointment as an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center. The energy coffee gives “could be reflected in the women’s assessment of their mood symptoms,” the expert adds.