Higher theobromine intake may increase risk of Depression in adults

Written By : Jacinthlyn Sylvia |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2022-12-25T20:00:57+05:30 | Updated On 20 Oct 2023 12:21 PM IST

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

antidepressantstheobromineBMC Psychiatry

Source : BMC Psychiatry

Jacinthlyn Sylvia

Neuroscience Masters graduate

Jacinthlyn Sylvia, a Neuroscience Master's graduate from Chennai has worked extensively in deciphering the neurobiology of cognition and motor control in aging. She also has spread-out exposure to Neurosurgery from her Bachelor’s. She is currently involved in active Neuro-Oncology research. She is an upcoming neuroscientist with a fiery passion for writing. Her news cover at Medical Dialogues feature recent discoveries and updates from the healthcare and biomedical research fields. She can be reached at editorial@medicaldialogues.in

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751