Coffee Research the latest study shows that coffee can reduce depression in women

Women who drink coffee daily are less likely to develop depression than women who don't, new research shows.

Researchers who followed more than 50,000 women over a 10-year period found that women who drank at least four cups of coffee a day had a 20 percent lower risk of depression, and those who drank two or three cups a day had a 15 percent lower risk than those who drank less coffee.

Of the 50739 women, none had symptoms of depression at the start of the study, but 2607 had depression by the end of the study.

Alberto Ashley, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health who led the study, said caffeine promotes the release of certain psychoactive substances, such as dopamine, that help regulate mood and reduce depression. But these are short-term."We don't know why long-term caffeine intake reduces depression," he said. Ashley said.

Researchers have tracked coffee's effects on heart health, inflammation and even cancer in the past, but have rarely linked it to mood management.

Although it's still too early to say coffee is an effective way to fight depression, Cargill, an associate professor at Texas A & M University's Health Sciences Center, said the findings could at least allay concerns about caffeine's possible side effects. "Excessive caffeine consumption has long been thought to be a contributing factor to anxiety and other mental disorders, and it was once thought that caffeine intake should be restricted."