Research links diet drinks to depression risk

New research has found a possible link between diet drinks and increased risk of depression.
To be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, the study highlighted a connection between sweetened beverages – especially those designed to help people watching their weight – and a greater likelihood of experiencing the condition, as well as slightly lower risk associated to drinking coffee.
Honglei Chen of the National Institutes of Health in Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, who is also a member of the American Academy of Neurology, said: “Sweetened beverages, coffee and tea are commonly consumed worldwide and have important physical – and may have important mental – health consequences.”
The drinks consumption of 263,925 people between 1995 and 1996 were evaluated as part of the study, with levels of depression diagnosis recorded ten years later.
It was found that individuals were around 30 per cent more likely to develop depression when they drank four cans or cups of soda a day, with this risk at its greatest when people consumed high levels of diet drinks.