Department of Neuropsychopharmacology, Pelé Pequeno Príncipe Research Institute, Av. Silva Jardim 1632, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
BMC Pediatr. 2011 Aug 25;11:73. doi: 10.1186/1471-2431-11-73.
Early-onset depressive disorders can have severe consequences both from developmental and functional aspects. The etiology of depressive disorders is complex and multi-factorial, with an intricate interaction among environmental factors and genetic predisposition. While data from studies on adults suggest that caffeine is fairly safe, effects of caffeine in children, who are in period of rapid brain development, are currently unknown. Furthermore, systematic research addressing the relationship between depressive symptoms in children and caffeine consumption is lacking.The present study examined the effects of caffeine consumption on depressed mood in children with depression and non-depressed participants.
Children and adolescents (n = 51) already enrolled in an ongoing longitudinal study, aged 9-12 years, were assessed for depressive symptoms with the Children Depressive Inventory (CDI). Psychopathological symptoms were assessed with the Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL) and eating habits were assessed with the Nutrition-Behavior Inventory (NBI) 1. The children were compared to control children without psychopathology attending public schools in a Southern Brazilian city.
Participants with CDI scores ≥ 15 (mean = 19; S.D. = 4) also had high NBI scores (mean = 52; S.D. = 19, p < 0.001) suggestive of a relationship between depressive symptoms and environmental factors, in this case nutrition/behavior. Additional linear regression adjusted statistical analysis, considering the factors of consumption of sweets and caffeine individually, showed that caffeine, but not sweets, was associated with depressive symptoms.
These findings indicate that depressed children consume more caffeinated drinks than non-depressed children. Nonetheless while a strong association between depressive symptoms and caffeine consumption among children was found, further research should investigate whether or not this association is due to a cause and effect relationship.
早发性抑郁障碍在发育和功能方面都可能产生严重后果。抑郁障碍的病因复杂且多因素，环境因素和遗传易感性之间存在复杂的相互作用。虽然来自成人研究的数据表明咖啡因相当安全，但目前尚不清楚咖啡因在处于大脑快速发育阶段的儿童中的作用。此外，缺乏针对儿童抑郁症状与咖啡因摄入之间关系的系统研究。本研究探讨了咖啡因摄入对抑郁儿童和非抑郁参与者抑郁情绪的影响。
已经参加正在进行的纵向研究的儿童和青少年（n = 51），年龄为 9-12 岁，使用儿童抑郁量表（CDI）评估抑郁症状。使用儿童行为检查表（CBCL）评估精神病理学症状，使用营养行为量表（NBI）评估饮食习惯。将这些儿童与来自巴西南部一个城市的没有精神病理学的公立学校的对照儿童进行比较。
CDI 评分≥15（平均值=19；标准差=4）的参与者的 NBI 评分也较高（平均值=52；标准差=19，p <0.001），表明抑郁症状与环境因素之间存在关系，在这种情况下是营养/行为。考虑到单独消耗甜食和咖啡因的因素，进行额外的线性回归调整统计分析表明，咖啡因与抑郁症状相关，而不是甜食。
这些发现表明，抑郁儿童比非抑郁儿童饮用更多含咖啡因的饮料。尽管在儿童中发现了抑郁症状与咖啡因摄入之间存在强烈关联，但还需要进一步研究以确定这种关联是否是由于因果关系。
