Can coffee improve your mood?
The question is rather general, but it hits on the results of a recently published study of more than 50,000 women who drink coffee. What did the study reveal? Apparently, those ladies who consumed more than two cups of coffee on a daily basis were statistically less prone to depression. It seems that caffeine could be a key ingredient in these findings – similar results were not discovered in women who drank decaffeinated coffee.
The study was undertaken by the Harvard School of Public Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Columbia University, all from that great coffee-drinking nation, the United States.
The research project uses a method called ‘prospective cohort study.’ What does this mean in simple terms? It follows the participating women over a period of time to look into the connection between lifestyle and health. Generally speaking, it is thought that this is a more reliable way of testing these connections than by asking the participants to answer questions retrospectively – it also avoids the problem of a patient knowing the outcome if interviewed at the end of the period in question (eg, if they have already started to suffer from depression).
There are limitations to the study – one of the main ones is that it is not clear which factor influences which. For example, would it be more accurate to say that women who suffer from depression are not so attracted to coffee?
Nevertheless, the whole study is certainly food for thought, even if more investigations are necessary.