Daily tea drinking is associated with a low level of depressive symptoms in the Finnish general population.
Tea drinking has been suggested to be beneficial in neurodegenerative diseases where depressive mood is a common symptom. Nevertheless, it is not known whether there are any associations between tea drinking and depression in general populations. In this study we investigated these associations in a sample of the Finnish general population (n = 2011) using a postal questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Those who reported drinking tea daily were less depressed than the others. They had a lower mean BDI score and also a lower prevalence of depression. None of those whose daily tea intake was five cups or more had depression. Several potential confounding factors were included in the final sex- and age-adjusted multivariate logistic regression model which suggested that those who drink tea daily may have a significantly reduced risk of being depressed (adjusted odds ratio 0.47, 95% confidence interval 0.27-0.83). In conclusion, an inverse relationship between daily tea drinking and the risk of being depressed was found in a relatively large general population sample. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms are unresolved and further studies are needed.
Hintikka
Jukka
J
Kuopio University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Kuopio, Finland. jukka.hintikka@kuh.fi
Tolmunen
Tommi
T
Honkalampi
Kirsi
K
Haatainen
Kaisa
K
Koivumaa-Honkanen
Heli
H
Tanskanen
Antti
A
Viinamäki
Heimo
H
D000328:Adult; D002110:Caffeine; D003863:Depression / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013662:Tea
D013662:Tea; D002110:Caffeine