Higher theobromine intake may increase risk of Depression in adults

A new cross-sectional study conducted by Xin-yu Li showed that higher theobromine consumption is linked to a increased risk of depression. The findings of this study were published in BMC Psychiatry.

246 million people worldwide suffer from depression, a severe disorder. The leading contributor to disability worldwide and the fourth-leading cause of sickness overall is depression. Validated treatment options for depression include antidepressant medications, psychotherapies, and various brain stimulation techniques. Previous research have suggested that chocolate might help prevent depression. Theobromine, one of the main components of chocolate, has been demonstrated to maintain cognitive function via modulating neurotransmitter signaling in this respect. In order to ascertain whether there is a connection between dietary theobromine consumption and depressive symptoms, this study was carried out.

The replies of 3637 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2017–2018 served as the basis for this study's findings. A 24-hour food questionnaire from the 2017–2018 cycle was used to calculate the participants' daily theobromine consumption. A patient health questionnaire score of 5 or above was considered to indicate the presence of depression. With the use of a multivariate logistic regression that took into account a number of important sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health-related variables, the relationship between theobromine consumption and depression was investigated.

In this study a total of 6903 individuals took part and gave their apt response. Theobromine consumption and depressed symptoms were found to be correlated by the findings of multivariate logistic regression.

Due to a lack of evidence, the effects of caffeine could not be researched. Additionally, residual confounding cannot be ruled out after rigorous confounding corrections. It is particularly difficult to totally rule out the recollection bias of elderly persons.

In conclusion, Theobromine consumption is linked to a higher incidence of depression in adults, according to this study, underscoring the impact of diet on cognitive performance. Finally, further research is required to define how theobromine affects mood states.

Reference:

Li, X., Liu, H., Zhang, L., & Yang, X. (2022). Association between dietary theobromine with depression: a population-based study. In BMC Psychiatry (Vol. 22, Issue 1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-022-04415-y