Harvard Study Shows Coffee May Reduce Depression in Women

Native News Network Staff in Native Health. Discussion »

Grandma Knows Best

BETHESDA, MARYLAND - It now appears grandma may have had it right. American Indian grandmothers seem to have always had coffee on hand to share with love ones and even unexpected guests.

This isn't a medical treatment, but a study finds that women who drink more coffee are less likely to develop clinical depression. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health saw that in 10 years of data on about 50,700 women with an average age of 63, who had no diagnosis of clinical depression at the start.

“The risk of depression appears to decrease for women with increasing consumption of caffeinated coffee,”

stated researcher Farbia Mirzeai.

Women who drank four cups of coffee a day had a 20 percent lower risk than people who drank little or no coffee. The study found no benefit from drinking products containing less caffeine, or decaf.

Depression is a serious medical illness that involves the brain. It's more than just a feeling of being "down in the dumps" or "blue" for a few days. If you are one of the more than 20 million people in the United States who have depression, the feelings do not go away. They persist and interfere with your everyday life. Symptoms can include:

The study in Archives of Internal Medicine was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

posted January 17, 2011 6:00 am est