Smiley Cappucino Image: (cc) Nicky Getgood
This is going to come as good news for the Starbucks Generation. According to a new report from the September 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, the risk of depression appears to decrease for women with increasing consumption of caffeinated coffee.
Of course, what one study giveth another taketh away. Previous research suggested coffee consumption was associated with an increased risk of depression. In fact, that’s what the researchers were looking into — trying to determine whether, in women, consumption of caffeine is associated with a risk of depression.
The research focused on women because depression affects twice as many women as men. In the U.S. one woman out of every five will battle depression during her lifetime.
“Identification of risk factors for depression among women and the development of new preventive strategies are, therefore, a public health priority."
The authors note that their study "cannot prove that caffeine or caffeinated coffee reduces the risk of depression but only suggests the possibility of such a protective effect."