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Diet drinks may taste good, but they might not bring happiness. A new study finds that people who drink diet sodas or fruit drinks are more likely to be diagnosed with depression.
The study doesn't show that diet drinks cause depression and the researchers stress their findings don't provide an explanation. They looked at more than 263,900 U.S. adults ages 50 to 71 who answered questions about their beverage consumption between the years 1995 and 1996. About 10 years later (from 2004 to 2006), the same people were asked if a doctor had diagnosed them with depression since the year 2000.
People who regularly drank four or more cans of any type of soda a day were 30 percent more likely to have received a diagnosis of depression than people who did not drink soda, said Dr. Honglei Chen of the National Institutes of Health, who led the study. The risk of depression was especially high for people who drank diet soda — a 31 percent increased risk compared to a 22 percent increased risk for those who drank regular soda, the researchers said.
Those who drank four or more cans of diet fruit drinks were 51 percent more likely to be diagnosed with depression compared to those who did not drink diet fruit drinks.
By contrast, people who drank four or more cups of coffee a day were 10 percent less likely to have been diagnosed with depression compared to non-coffee drinkers.
The study only found an association, and did not determine whether diet soda or fruit drinks caused depression. Although the researchers took into account factors that could affect the results, such as age, sex, education, smoking status, physical activity, body mass index (BMI) and energy intake, it's possible other circumstances, such as a family history of depression or stressful life events, could explain the association.
A family history of depression and stressful life events are some of the biggest predictors of depression, said Emma Robertson-Blackmore, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center, who was not involved in the study. In addition, older people are more likely to experience stressful life events, including the death of a loved one, job changes or illnesses, Robertson-Blackmore said.
However, the findings agree with those of a few previous studies that found a link between frequent consumption of sweetened beverages and a higher prevalence of depression, the researchers said. (Diet sodas and fruit drinks are sweetened, but their sweeteners contain no calories.)
"More research is needed to confirm these findings, and people with depression should continue to take depression medications prescribed by their doctors," said Chen.
The results also back up findings from a study published in 2011, which found a link between coffee consumption and a reduced risk of depression in women.
"Coffee contains large amounts of caffeine, which is a well-known brain stimulant," which could be responsible for effects on mood, Chen said.
The study will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting in San Diego in March.
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another one of those monkey in lab coats making unnecessary correlation of totally useless stuff........ must be another one of those government-funded research...
Step 1: make up some surveys
Step 2: put numbers in Excel or some stats software and run it
Step 3: whatever correlation comes up, report it and claim you have done some work and collect your paycheck
this is seriously the kind of work you assign to monkeys in a zoo... go work on cold fusion or something useful.... omg.... what a piece of sh!t
Drink 7x7s and everything will be all right. Or take Zanex. What kind of a story is this?
You drink 4 cans of diet soda a day because you think you are fat or really unhealthy and if you think you are fat and unhealthy you are probably depressed about it. That will be 1 million dollars please use paypal.
Ban diet soda.It kills. Just kidding. This story is stupid.
Look ALL soda is bad for you ! so you might as well drink it straight, at least you wont die from cancer (sweetner) from diet soda !
There is also a correlation between gang violence and fluoride in water but that in no way indicates fluoride in water causes violence. That said, it has been shown numerous times that caffeine can help low energy symptoms depression, so this study is full of holes to begin with in stating much about depression and soda. Sadly, the media/reporters are too ignorant in research to report study results appropriately.
Lol. I bet if you drank four 7x7's every day you'd be in a pretty good mood. Your liver probably wouldn't be very happy, but you certainly would.
Paying taxes makes me depressed. Is it because I drink diet soda.. I'll switch to sugar but I don't think it will help. I'am just so depressed.
I believe we should register all diet drinks as they are causing depresssion and the result may be a suicide or massive consuming of more diet drinks to make you feel better....They shouldn't make 24-30 packs of diet soda, whats wrong with 6 packs, can't a person consume enuf with a 6 pack, i just can't see any reason to have to have a 30 pack of diet soda....
It may seem like this study was a waste of time and that overweight people drink diet soda and overweight people tend to be depressed. But what if aspartame or some other ingredient in diet soda did cause depression? This type of study would be the first step in finding a causal association and would have health implications for millions of people.
Just because you don't understand the importance of a question or the scientific process, doesn't mean this study was a waste of taxpayer dollars. By the way, most of the important basic science research in this country is funded by the government. Even pharmaceutical companies take government money for research for profit in the long haul. Money spent on scientific research assures American dominance in technology, medicine, defense, etc. It is a patriotic use of resources.
I drink diet soda they have it wrong.i have drank diet soda's for 20 plus years not depressed!!!!!
In related news my neighbor took down his outdoor Christmas decorations this weekend.
But he only drank 3 cans of diet soda. What does that mean?
Can you say ignore little jimmy!!!!!
Another hairbrain attempt to get people to stop drinking soda.
Hundreds of thousands of people are now diagnosed with depression, bipolar disease, ADHD and other diseases they can build a pharmaceutical empire with! Get the kids off drugs. They might WANT to go outside to play for a while if they weren't zombified so they don't get in the way!
Grownups even...yes, we face more and more realistic hardships as the years go by. Many can cause depression. Financial woes, divorce, jobs, etc., etc. But it's so much easier for a doctor to write a prescription for mind altering drugs, than to find what the real problem is.
I once spent years with my local GP trying to convince him something was PHYSICALLY wrong with me. (I was having severe fluttering in my chest...going to sleep while driving...blacking out, yet coming to just before PASSING out and having sensations that the ground was opening up and I was falling through it.)
Instead of running tests or having me sent for tests, he just kept saying "you're just stressed. Take an antidepressant and go home".
After finally getting tired of his discriminating attitude (it's well known that doctors put a greater percentage of women patients on antidepressants, than thier male counterparts.), I finally made an appointment with a cardiologist, who found that my heart was trying to beat 625 times a minute during those episodes. I have Atrial Fibrillation and am now on medication to control my heartbeats and rhythm.
The drinks have nothing to do with depression. Pharmaceutical companies do though.
Maybe cause diet pop drinkers are old and fat?
Boy, your name fits you well. A judge and jury straight from h3II.
Hate to disappoint you, but ehhhhhhhhhhht! WRONG!
All of the young girls in our office and others...(you know, the cuties little boys like you drool over?), ALL drink diet sodas!
Now crawl back in your h3IIhole with your dear ole' dad!
What is a 7x7?
7x7 is Seagram's 7 (Whiskey) and 7 Up. People who drink diet sodas are obese? How do DIET (i.e. no calories) make you fat. Also, if you bothered to read, you would see the study took into account BMI, physical activity, etc. The study is important because most depression is caused or related to chemical activity in the brain. Diet sodas contain chemicals not found in nature, so there could be a possible connection between them and depression. I find the right-wing distrust of science amusing and sad at the same time.
But... if you wear a tinfoil hat while drinking diet soda while watching reruns of Tom & Jerry, dancing naked, it's all good!
Artificial sweetener causing medical problems? ya think? lol most people can't even pronounce the chemical name. Put junk in your body and expect what? good health? Really?
MIKE, you come to this blog every day to complain. I'm thinking you are depressed and don't know it. But i could be wrong.
See ?? I ALWAYS KNEW DIET SODA CAUSES DEPRESSION !!
Chemicals that fake out sweetness CAN'T be good for ya... you cannot have one thing without something bad else occurring. USA soda companies should make use of Stevia, the natural very sweet leaf, in sodas. But WAIT... there's a conspiracy ... the USA soda companies are in cahoots with the sugar cane monopoly and the chemical sweetener companies!
HEY ProFreedom... I'm dancing naked RIGHT NOW !!
Drinking diet drinks can make one depressed? That's sad.
I like diet soda. After reading this article, I am now depressed. So should I quit drinking diet soda, or stop reading about people getting paid good money to write worthless studies?
I can understand why many people are suspicious or dismissive of statistical studies of this sort. Too many of them confirm obvious truths, such as people who stand in the rain tend to get wet.
But, sometimes a statistical study can unmask a hidden aspect of some behavioral trait, or environmental factor, which has been hiding in plain sight for years. I imagine it was statistical studies which first highlighted the correlation between smoking cigarettes and higher rates of lung cancer and emphysema.
I actually find this correlation between drinking diet sodas and depression, if it is that simple and direct, to be somewhat interesting. It might be a case of confusing parallel symptoms for cause and effect, but who knows, maybe diet soda sweeteners have some secondary impact on our metabolism, one that nobody ever suspected ...except, perhaps, the soda companies.
No wonder my coworker is crazy.
I drink diet soda AND coffee. Do they cancel each other out??
Fat people are often depressed - and they drink a lot of diet soda.
True Fact about Coca-cola
I know I was always depressed when all there was to drink was diet soda :p
Or Shasta! ;-)
A study on Diet Soda can cause Depression?
Interesting study. Why don't they do a study on people who drink excessive amounts of wine, and hard liquor---they are truly depressed.
Is the next act going to be on diet soda, "Warning Label";, Drinking Soda Can Cause Depression, visit your doctor immediately".
Stupid.
Maybe people who drink diet soda are already depressed because of weight issues? I mean, diet sodas taste nasty. I don't see why people would drink it if not to 'have their soda and drink it too'.
I grew up drinking diet soda, so I actually prefer the taste to non-diet drinks. Still, who is drinking 4 or more cans of soda a day?? Shesh, drink some water in there people!
This article depresses me.
That's because people who drink four or more cans of soda every day tend to be in very poor shape and people who stay in very poor shape over a period of 10 years tend to become depressed.
And the ones who are drinking 4 or more cans of diet soda are in the worst shape because they are the ones who know something is wrong (hence the diet soda choice) but still can't break their sugar water habit.
Hey Scuba opinions are like a__holes,you are one. I weighted 185 LBS,and still drink diet.
Actually it's opinions are like a__holes, everybody has one. Nice try.
NOT, Cruisin!!!!!!!
There are exceptions to every rule but I stand by my original statement: If you drink four or more cans of soda every day, chances are you are not in good health.
They may as well just stick 80 spoonful's of sugar in their mouths each day. Sick. Sugar turns to fat, and rots the brain so of course you're going to have some form of health issue if you drink soda by the gallon.
mike, without your height your weight doesn't really tell us much. if you're 6'1 and 185 lbs you're in good shape. if you're 5'1 and 185 lbs you're really overweight.
I sure hope tax dollars were not used for this kind of foolishness. There is no way on earth they can study something like this - way too many variables involved - can't be done.
4 cans of diet soda a day will make anyone extremely sick. There. I did that study for you for free. No thanks necessary.
Thank you. You are right.
I am an experimental psychologist and am currently teaching a research methods course, amongst others. And, Yus, I have to agree.
Correlations are truly not all that helpful when sorting things out. However, media reporting of any research study tends to be poor. Fortunately this article tries to stress that correlations do not equal causation, but the wording isn't the best. And, there is a gross lack of alternative explanation mentioned here (if this was missing in the original article, for shame on the researchers).
For one, were factors such as weight, exercise, and health controlled for at all? What about whether people were on a diet? And, how about employment status? People I know who work a bunch tend to down lots of coffee - not so much for those who are unemployed or who work little. It is well established that these factors (weight, exercise/health, self-perception, and employment all influence mood).
And... what does this article say about the multitude of current research studies (experiments not correlations) that strongly conclude that consuming or tasting something sweet can help people reestablish self-control and impulse control when exhausted or even mildly worn down?
The depression might be linked to the diet sweetener. Diet sodas give me a headache. Whereas, regular sodas do not. But, even four regular sodas a day would me sick.
No! Not these 'scientists'. Please don't let them work on cold fusion. Let them work for parks and rec and hold a shovel or something a little less important. Which is what this study is.
Not at all surprised that the article didn't mention it, but aspartame is toxic. The FDA itself admits, "that aspartame ingestion results in the production of methanol, formaldehyde and formate: These claims are factual. In the gastrointestinal tract aspartame is hydrolyzed to one of its component materials, methanol, as well as the two amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid. This methanol is taken up by the cells of the body and metabolized first to formaldehyde and then to formate." -David Hattan, Acting Director of the Division of Health Effects Evaluation in the United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA), 2010. As per usual, the FDA claims its in small amounts and therefore not harmful. But who's to say who is more sensitive than others? And not to mention that the corporate-overlord controlled FDA says the SAME thing about every other chemical that we are exposed to. Sometimes its just that last straw that breaks the camel's back.
They did not find that the diet soda "caused" depression - only that people who drank diet soda were more likely to be diagnosed with depression.
OhJoy --
Okay, I have known for at least thirty years that drinking diet soda makes me irritable. I think it may be an allergy. At parties I have had people give me mixed drinks made with diet sodas -- and they swear it is not diet -- but I know within minutes and they confess. That diet crap is not natural, and I think it highly likely that it could cause other problems (including depression) with other people.
Here's a little side note: Anyone at any time can build up an intolerance to any substance. I drank diet soda for over 30 years with aspartame, and one day I had a reaction, which caused a trip to the emergency room. That depressed the hell out of me.
Since that day (over 10 years ago) Ihave stayed away from aspartame, and used Saccharin, Splenda, etc. with no ill effects.
I have not read the full study and can only go by my own experience, however, I can say that if someone is depressed maybe they gravitate toward diet soda. If you think diet soda causes you depression, run an experiment, and drink something else for awhile, if the depression goes away then you know the answer for yourself. Everyone reacts differently.
I believe the theological word for this study is BULL!
Another waste of good money to determine something so foolish.
"I believe the theological word for this study is BULL!"
Only for one who worships ignorance.
This is stupid. If you are drinking diet anything it's because you think yo are overweight, and that can make you depressed!
More than likely its that the doctors since 2000 have been over prescribing anti-depressants to patients.
Let's see if I can guess the reason for the correlation...
People with low self-image about their bodies end up eating too much ice cream, sweets, and other junk food... Suddenly when they realize they are gaining weight they will make the 'effort' of cutting back on calories by... drinking 'diet' soda... and then going back to the sweets. Then they realize they are still gaining weight despite their 'best' efforts, and that makes them even more depressed...
Extremely poor reporting, excellent comments to take them to task for it. Headline at most should read "Drinking diet soda and other drinks, mildly correlated to depression."
ok
drink more water
Did we really pay somebody to do this stupid study. Call me when you want to do a study on why dogs poop. I'll take the money and run.
4 or more cans a day???? Who drinks that much? 4 or more cans a day of anything is probably bad for you.
Even beer? Oh no, not beer. Perhaps Coors is better than Coors light....according to this article. I will get a case of both and let you know.
See if you can get a goverment grant on that test Bob and I'AM IN. Hell I'am in anyway.
Been diabetic for 25 years and with all the vices that have been removed and or forbidden the one few remaining pleasures is that sweet refreshing taste sensation of anything with carbonation! Those bubbles that go along with whatever artifically sweetened treasure in a bottle that may be fully stocked on the bottom shelf of the fridge! The late afternoon diet coke before dinner. That 3am diet root beer or dare I say it, diet orange soda. I am completely and totally depressed! The reason is that I just noticed that I'm out of diet cherry sodas! Good grief whatever will I do? Jump off a bridge no! Go to the store to stock up on my doomsday prepper supply of sodas to ready myself for the day there is isn't any? Yes.
Heard of SodaStream? My diabetic wife used to carbonate juice with it. Just sayin'.
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=sodastream&tag=googhydr-20&index=garden&hvadid=4241753617&hvpos=1t2&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=735376607132416757&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&ref=pd_sl_97fni2axmq_e
Thanks Bob. Have definitely heard of them. Will have to look into it.
What about coffee sweetened with artificial sweetener? WINNING! Seriously though, these kinds of studies are the reason that a B.S degree equals bullshat, an M.S. degree = More shat and Ph. D. stands for Piled Higher and Deeper.
UPDATE:
People who smoke menthol cigarettes more likely to be poor, study says.
Does that mean, if I quit smoking menthol's, I'll be rich? :) LOL
lacy it will take some time to out live your rich relatives but at least then you have a chance. I know, I have had this problem for years.
The title could just as easily been "People With Depression 30 Percent More Likely To Drink Diet Soda".
Well, hum, let me see. I was on depression medication that makes you gain weight. You gain weight you are still depressed. My doctor was on me to lose weight. I did some investigating and found that the depression med I was on made you gain weight. I got off that med and lost 30 pounds in less than two months and am still losing. That made me happy again. My doctor told me not to drink sugary drinks, which I wasn't, and try the diet drinks. What the hell, I'm going to be happy anyway and drink my diet drinks with caution, drink more water (which I was doing already) and do what I have always done in exercise. When I got off the meds I found that I was doing everything right but I had meds that was saying otherwise. Studies, they are all wacky. They can't do the testing on enough people to really make a claim. Just use common sense!
I weighed 160 pounds from 1973-2009. I never knew a day of depression but I smoked cigs. In 2009 I quit the cigs went to 225 pounds in 4 months and experienced the first bout of clinical depression in my life. I thought I was going to die and did not now why. Saw a doc he told me to loose weight-I am at 175, do not smoke, and have no depression. It is most definitely related to being overweight. Overweight people drink diet soda......enough for me. This country is experiencing two epidemics I think are directly related (at least). Fat and depression. Our leisure is killing us. But what do I know.
I notice a lot of Doctors drink Diet sodas do they know about this study???? LOL
What a total bunch of malarkey. People are depressed for better reasons than drinking diet soda. The state of our country is the biggest reason. Who wouldn't be depressed living in America these days.
Let's see, a person who drinks diet drinks may just possibly have a weight problem. People with weight problems often have a negative self image and therefore are more likely to be depressed than someone who doesn't have a weight problem. The study might have been better had they had one group with a weight problem who drink diet drinks and compare the depression rate of that group with another group where the people are not overweight, do not feel overweight, and simply prefer diet drinks to regular sugar-based sodas.
Time to pass more diet soda control laws!