When we talk about coffee and anxiety, the prevailing belief is that coffee, especially caffeinated coffee, can lead to an escalate in anxiety. This is generally attributed to the psychoactive effects of caffeine, i.e. jitters. However, a fresh, comprehensive study on the topic has found the opposite to be true. Coffee in moderate doses can actually lead to low mood and stress disorders such as anxiety.
The study is scheduled to be published next month in the journal . To do this, researchers from China’s Fudan University analyzed an extensive dataset of over 461,000 people who were followed for an average of 13.4 years. For Science alertthese participants “were in good mental health at the beginning of the study period” and were asked to self-report their coffee consumption as part of the study.
In total, the study documented 18,220 cases of mood disorders and 18,547 cases of stress disorders. After taking into account other health factors such as age, education, physical activity, etc., the researchers found that people who drank two to three cups of coffee a day had a significantly reduced risk of stress and mood disorders. The results for both cases followed a J-shaped curve; Those who did not drink coffee experienced little or no effect, followed by an escalate in the effect to two to three cups, followed by a decline and then a negative effect at higher ranges of daily intake.
The researchers also note that the effects were felt differently depending on gender. Men experienced a more pronounced association than women. They also noted that the effect occurred regardless of the type of coffee consumed, including decaffeinated, and whether the participant had a genotype that hindered the metabolism of caffeine.
Although the study involved a enormous population, the researchers note that the findings only showed correlation and additional work will be needed to test whether coffee has a causal role in the results.
Still, this is good news for people concerned about the effects of coffee on mood and stress. Science says it won’t be that bad after all.
