Prospective association of soft drink consumption with depressive symptoms

Ikuko Kashino; Takeshi Kochi; Fumiaki Imamura; Masafumi Eguchi; Keisuke Kuwahara; Akiko Nanri; Kayo Kurotani; Shamima Akter; Huan Hu; Takako Miki; Isamu Kabe; Tetsuya Mizoue

doi:10.1016/j.nut.2020.110860

Prospective association of soft drink consumption with depressive symptoms

Nutrition. 2021 Jan:81:110860. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2020.110860. Epub 2020 May 16.

Authors

Ikuko Kashino¹, Takeshi Kochi², Fumiaki Imamura³, Masafumi Eguchi², Keisuke Kuwahara⁴, Akiko Nanri⁵, Kayo Kurotani⁶, Shamima Akter⁷, Huan Hu⁷, Takako Miki⁷, Isamu Kabe², Tetsuya Mizoue⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Center for Clinical Sciences, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: ikukokashino@gmail.com.
² Department of Health Administration, Furukawa Electric Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.
³ Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Center for Clinical Sciences, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Teikyo University Graduate School of Public Health, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Center for Clinical Sciences, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Food and Health Sciences, International College of Arts and Sciences, Fukuoka Women's University, Fukuoka, Japan.
⁶ Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Center for Clinical Sciences, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Nutritional Epidemiology and Shokuiku, National Institute of Health and Nutrition, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, Tokyo, Japan.
⁷ Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Center for Clinical Sciences, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.

Abstract

Objective: Consumption of soft drinks has become a serious public health issue worldwide. However, prospective evidence is limited regarding the relationship between soft drink consumption and depression, especially in Asia. The aim of this study was to investigate the prospective association between soft drink consumption and the development of depressive symptoms.

Methods: We evaluated an occupational cohort of 935 adults in Japan (2012-2016), who were free from depressive symptoms at baseline and attended a 3-y follow-up assessment. Soft drink consumption was assessed using a self-administered diet history questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated from multivariate logistic regression analysis controlling for sociodemographic, lifestyle, dietary, and occupational covariates.

Results: Over the 3-y study period, 16.9% (158 cases) of the study participants reported depressive symptoms. Higher soft drink consumption was associated with higher odds of depressive symptoms. The multivariable-adjusted OR was 1.91 (95% CI, 1.11-3.29; P_trend = 0.015) when comparing soft drink consumption of ≥4 cups/wk with consumption of <1 cup/wk.

Conclusion: The present results suggested that greater consumption of soft drinks would increase the likelihood of exhibiting depressive symptoms.

Keywords: Cohort study; Depression; Epidemiology; Japanese; Sugar; Sugar-sweetened beverage.

MeSH terms

Adult
Asia
Carbonated Beverages* / adverse effects
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression* / epidemiology
Depression* / etiology
Humans
Japan / epidemiology
Prospective Studies

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding