Daily tea drinking is associated with a low level of depressive symptoms in the Finnish general population

Abstract

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 ¼ 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.

Food groups and fatty acids associated with self-reported depression: An analysis from the Australian National Nutrition and Health Surveys

“…This is contrary to the reported negative correlation between consumption of tea and depression in a Finnish population, where daily tea consumption was associated with a 53% reduction in the odds of depression [47]. However, the authors acknowledge that Finland is a coffee drinking nation with 86% of Finnish people drinking coffee daily and only 27% of Finnish people drink tea daily.…”

“…However, the authors acknowledge that Finland is a coffee drinking nation with 86% of Finnish people drinking coffee daily and only 27% of Finnish people drink tea daily. The authors suggest that perhaps this minority tea drinking group could be more health conscious and that the lower depression rates are associated with factors other than tea [47].…”

Green tea and coffee consumption is inversely associated with depressive symptoms in a Japanese working population

“…The lack of an association in the Japanese study may be partly ascribed to infrequent consumption of coffee among the elderly, with only 13?2 % of the study participants consuming $2 cups coffee/d, as reported in an earlier study that included the same participants (30) . A null finding has also been reported from a Finnish study (18) . In that study, coffee consumption was evaluated as a dichotomous variable, which may not be suitable to detect an association at a moderate coffee consumption.…”

Dietary intake and depressive symptoms: A systematic review of observational studies

“…1 [17] High-calorie sweets on n-3 long-chain PUFAs, almost all studies showed no association. Several papers (n 5 1-7) investigated other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and isoflavones, with particular focus on folate and other B vitamins, but again almost all studies showed no association, with the exception for folate in men.…”