Risk of depression in women decreased with increase of coffee

The risk of depression for women decreased with increasing consumption of caffeinated coffee, according to a report in the September 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA / Archives Journals. Caffeine is the most common central nervous system stimulant in the world, and about 80% of consumption in the form of coffee, according to background information in the article. Previous research, including a prospective study among men, suggested an association between coffee consumption and risk of depression. Because depression is a chronic and recurring condition that affects twice as many women as men, including about one of every five American women in their lifetime, "identifying risk factors for depression among women and the development of new preventive strategies are therefore a public health priority, "write the authors. They tried to examine whether consumption of caffeine or caffeinated beverages is certain in women associated with the risk of depression. Michel Lucas, Ph.D., RD, of Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and colleagues 50,739 American women who participated in the nurses' health study to study.Participants, with an average (mean) age of 63 had no depression at the beginning of the study in 1996, and prospectively followed up through June 2006. Researchers caffeine consumption through questionnaires completed from May 1980 through April 2004, including the frequency that caffeinated and noncaffeinated coffee nonherbal tea, soft drink caffeinated (sugared or low-calorie Colas), caffeine-free soda (sugared or low calorie caffeine-free Colas or other carbonated drinks) and chocolate are usually consumed in the previous 12 months. The authors defined depression as reporting a new diagnosis of clinical depression and the start of the regular use of antidepressants in the previous two years. 
Analysis of the cumulative average consumption of a two-year latency period, such data on caffeine consumption from 1980 through 1994 were used to episodes of clinical depression from 1996 to 1998 to predict; consumption from 1980 through 1998 were used for the 1998 and 2000 follow-up period, and so on. During the 10-year period from 1996 to 2006, researchers identified 2607 incident (new-onset) cases of depression. When compared with women with a cup of caffeinated coffee or less per week consumption, 02:58 those who consumed cups per day had a 15 percent reduction in relative risk for depression and those consuming four cups or more per day ' a decrease of 20 percent in relative risk. Compared with women in the lowest (less than 100 milligrams [mg] per day) categories of caffeine consumption, those in the highest category (550 mg per day or more) had a 20 percent decline in the relative risk of depression. No association was found between the intake of Decaffeinated Coffee and depression risk. 
"In this large prospective cohort of older women free of clinical depression or severe depressive symptoms at baseline, the risk of depression in a dose-dependent manner with increasing consumption of caffeinated coffee declined," wrote the authors. They Note that this observational study "can not prove that caffeine or caffeinated coffee reduced the risk of depression, but only indicates the possibility of such a protective effect." The authors state that further investigations to confirm their results and to determine whether regular caffeinated coffee consumption may contribute to the prevention or treatment of depression.