Green Tea Consumption and Risk of Depression Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the association between green tea consumption and depression symptom risk, using subgroup analyses concerning study design, geographical region of study, adjustment factors, age, cut-off for the highest consumption category, and depression assessment methods applied. We used PubMed to search for relevant literature. The inclusion criteria were studies that (a) investigated this association as a primary or secondary outcome; (b) published in English; (c) assessed and reported hazard ratios or odds ratios (ORs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for depression symptoms, or included sufficient information to allow their calculation; (d) included at least two groups differentiated based on green tea consumption (e.g., high and low); (e) reported the prevalence of depression symptoms in each group; and (f) reported the sample size for each group. Eight articles were found to meet all criteria. The results indicated that high green tea consumption is inversely associated with depression symptoms. The pooled OR was 0.66 (95% CI 0.58-0.74), and significant heterogeneity was not observed. Subgroup analysis showed that study design impacted results (cohort study [one study]: OR=0.29, 95% CI=0.04-2.14; cross-sectional study [seven studies]: OR=0.66, 95% CI=0.59-0.75). These findings suggest that green tea consumption reduces the risk of depression symptoms. This association was also observed in the cohort study included, but the results in which did not reach the significant level. Therefore, further cohort studies are needed to confirm the potential causal relationship in this regard.