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The following is a summary of “Consumption of sugary beverages, genetic predisposition and the risk of depression: a prospective cohort study,” published in the July 2024 issue of Psychiatry by Chen et al.

The link between sugary drinks and genetic risk for depression is still unclear.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study exploring how sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs), and natural juices (NJs) relate to depression and if genetic risk factors change the associations. 

They used data from 180,599 U.K. Biobank participants aged 39-72 who were depression-free at the start. Dietary intake of SSBs, ASBs, and NJs was tracked via 24-hour recalls (2009-2012). The Polygenic Risk Scores for depression were estimated and categorized as low (lowest tertile), intermediate (tertile 2), and high (highest tertile). Cox models were used to analyze HR and 95% CIs.

The results showed that over 12 years, 4915 people developed depression. Drinking more than 2 units/day of SSBs  (HR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.12-1.43) or ASBs (HR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.23-1.60) increased depression risk while drinking 0-1 units/day of NJs reduced risk (HR: 0.89, 95 CI: 0.83-0.95). Genetic factors didn’t alter these links (P interaction>0.05). Substitution models showed that replacing 1 unit/day of SSBs or ASBs with NJs lowered depression risk (HRs: 0.94 [95% CI: 0.89-0.99] and 0.89 [95% CI: 0.85-0.94]).

Investigators concluded that drinking more SSBs and ASBs raised depression risk, while moderate NJ consumption lowered while replacing SSBs and ASBs with NJs could potentially reduce the risk of depression.

Source: gpsych.bmj.com/content/37/4/e101446