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Is there a relationship between chocolate consumption and symptoms of depression? A cross-sectional survey of 13,626 US adults.
To assess the relationship between chocolate consumption and depressive symptoms, this 2019 study applied the data of 13,626 adults (≥20 years) participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2007-08 and 2013-14, deriving daily chocolate intake (no chocolate, non-dark chocolate, dark chocolate) and quantity of chocolate consumed (g/day) from two 24-hr dietary recalls and using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to determine clinically relevant depressive symptoms (scores ≥10). Following the exclusion of diabetics, the consumption of any chocolate was reported in 11.1% of the population, while 1.4% revealed eating dark chocolate. Although the intake of dark chocolate was not significantly associated with depressive symptoms (OR=0.30), those participants who consumed dark chocolate were found to have lower odds of developing clinically relevant depressive symptoms. Moreover, the subjects in the highest quartile for chocolate consumption (104-454 g/day) were 57% less likely to develop signs of depression when compared with those who did not eat any chocolate (OR = 0.43) and after adjusting for dark chocolate consumption. These results suggest the relevance of consuming chocolates, particularly dark chocolate, in enhancing the odds of avoiding depressive symptoms, although additional longitudinal studies and further long-term investigation of chocolate consumption will be required to explain the causality of this relationship and confirm these conclusions. [NPID: micronutrients, nutritional supplements, depression, chocolate]
Year: 2019
