From Medscape CME Clinical Briefs
News Author: Laurie Barclay, MD
CME Author: Charles P. Vega, MD
December 29, 2009 — More frequent consumption of green tea is associated with a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms in the community-dwelling older population, according to the results of a cross-sectional study reported in the December issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
"Green tea is reported to have various beneficial effects (e.g., anti–stress response and anti-inflammatory effects) on human health," write Hideko Takahashi, from Tohoku University Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering in Sendai, Japan, and colleagues. "Although these functions might be associated with the development and progression of depressive symptoms, no studies have investigated the relation between green tea consumption and depressive symptoms in a community-dwelling population."
Drinking green tea is a common social practice in Japan, and many people believe that this tea has salutary effects on the mind and spirit. However, a previous study by Shimbo and colleagues questions this possibility. They examined the effects of green tea consumption on self-perceptions of mental health among 600 Japanese adults. Their results, which were published in the December 2005 issue of Public Health Nutrition, failed to demonstrate a significant independent effect of green tea consumption on the mental health status of men or women. However, greater caffeine intake was associated with higher rates of poor mental health among women.
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