Tea consumption is inversely associated with depressive symptoms in the elderly: A cross-sectional study in eastern China.
Epidemiological studies suggest that higher tea consumption was associated with lower risk of depressive symptoms, but this has not been found consistently. Moreover, the effect of different types of tea on depressive symptoms needs to be further explored. This study aimed to examine the association between tea consumption and depressive symptoms in Chinese elderly.



We analyzed the baseline data from Zhejiang Major Public Health Surveillance Program including 9371 participants. Depressive symptoms was assessed through the application of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 scale (PHQ-9). Logistic regression models, controlled for an extensive range of potential confounders, were generated to evaluate the association between tea consumption and risk of depressive symptoms.



The black tea drinkers had a significantly decreased risk of depressive symptoms (p<0.01), whereas no association was found in green tea drinkers. Compared with non-drinkers, the adjusted ORs (95% CIs) were 0.48 (0.23, 0.99) and 0.35 (0.17, 0.72) for participants consuming <3 cups and ≥3 cups of black tea per day, respectively (P for trend: <0.01). A linear association between concentration of black tea and depressive symptoms was also confirmed in our study.



Cross-sectional data could not make a causation conclusion, and the observed association in our study could not be ascribed to any specific component in tea.



Our results indicated that higher black tea consumption was associated with a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms in the elderly.
Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Fu-Dong
FD
Li
Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Fan
F
He
Yiwu Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China.
Xiao-Jun
XJ
Ye
Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Wei
W
Shen
Yiwu Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China.
Yin-Ping
YP
Wu
Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Yu-Jia
YJ
Zhai
Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Xin-Yi
XY
Wang
Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: zjlinjunfen@163.com.
Jun-Fen
JF
Lin
D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001628:Beverages / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013662:Tea
D013662:Tea
Black tea; Chinese elderly; Depressive symptoms; Patient Health Questionnaire-9 scale; Tea consumption