I recently came across the headline, “Drinking coffee linked to lower suicide risk in adults.” The article detailed a recently published study that examined coffee and caffeine intake of 208,424 people enrolled in three different multi-decade studies. Consumption of caffeine, coffee, and decaffeinated coffee was assessed every 4 years by food-frequency questionnaires.
During the study periods, 277 people died by suicide, according to their death certificates.
The researchers found a correlation between people who drank more coffee (2-4 cups per day), and a 50 percent decrease in their risk of death by suicide.
But, like with most studies of this nature that simply follow a cohort of individuals over time, researchers can’t really tell you which way this correlation goes.
Are people who drink more coffee really at less risk for suicide?
Is coffee some sort of preventative anti-depressant? The researchers certainly believe so:
The researchers report that as well as stimulating the central nervous system, caffeine acts as a mild anti-depressant by boosting the production of particular neurotransmitters in the brain. These include noradrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin.
They add that this could explain the results of studies in the past that have linked the consumption of coffee to a lower risk of depression.
But the researchers only looked at completed suicides — not people who were suicidal and weren’t successful in following through with their suicide.
And that’s a big difference, because the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tell us that only 1 in 25 attempted suicides are successful.
That means in this study population where 277 people actually committed suicide, another 6,925 people attempted suicide but were unsuccessful. They researchers had no data to report on this group of people and their caffeine intake, because they limited their analysis to only completed suicides.
So does caffeine really help with suicidal risk?
The answer is — we don’t know. Without looking at the larger group of people who are suicidal — either having attempted suicide or have made concrete plans to commit suicide — researchers can’t really say that caffeine acts as a sort of prophylactic against suicide. All they can say is that there is a correlation between lack of caffeine intake and successfully committing suicide.
So should we all go out and start drinking even more coffee? Well, it’s one of those small things that can’t hurt you much (according to the research) if you do drink 2 or 3 cups a day. And if it doesn’t hurt, doesn’t cost a lot (stick to making it at home), and might help — why not try it?
It doesn’t have to be coffee, either. Any source of caffeine — such as tea — is likely to grant similar benefits (if such benefits are actually real).
For me, I’m not going to change my caffeine intake habits based a study like this. But I already drink 2 cups a day and don’t notice it doing much for my mood one way or another.
Read the article: Drinking coffee linked to lower suicide risk in adults
Reference
Michel Lucas, Eilis J. O’Reilly, An Pan, Fariba Mirzaei, Walter C. Willett, Olivia I. Okereke & Alberto Ascherio. (2013). Coffee, caffeine, and risk of completed suicide: Results from three prospective cohorts of American adults. The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry.
8 comments
I would like to question this article because whenever I was hospitalized in a mental health unit of a hospital any drings that were available to the patients were caffeine free.
Hi Jan,
That is true and even when you ask for real coffee they won’t give it to you. They say it is real, but by the headache i had for three days I know they lied. Taking coffee away from mentally ill people is like taking their meds away cold turkey. Cruel and unusual imo. My shrink there brought me those packets from Starbucks, such a nice guy!
I kinda wonder who put out that study though. Was it by the Coffee Growers of America or? Doesn’t matter, i want my coffee, the hospital takes away your human rights when in the mental ward. I can see taking my belt and shoelaces, but my COFFEE??? Geerrrrrr 🙂
I love what you are tweeting about mental health.It is helping me with school.I am pursuing a career as a clinical psychologist.I am also connected with a summer camp for mentally challenged people.
It would be interesting to see international correlations between suicide rates and coffee consumption. Do Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden, where people drink a) more coffee and b) stronger coffee than in, e.g., the US and the UK, have comparably lower suicide rates?
On the other hand, factors like sunlight hours, unemployment rates, and how the health care system works are also likely to influence suicide rates, and those are different for each country, and within the countries as well. So unless a multifactor analysis was carried out, full-scale, the best we could hope for would be a vague indication, which media would probably pick up and run with as if it were proof. And there is too much misinformation in the media as it is. It would still be interesting to know, though.
There are other studies that also point to a correlation between coffee consumption and mental illnesses, but not in this way.
This is hardly a surprise, since caffeine is a anxiety booster of the first order.
There is something fishy about this study, and I am going to find out why.
I have chronic moderate depression kept under control by Effexor.
I drink 3-4 cups coffee/day, but have to quit at 12:30p or I’m up all night.
Coffee does make me feel better–physically, mentally & emotionally. I get anxious if I DON’T drink it.
An observation from a drop in the ocean (of coffee?) 🙂
“…But the researchers only looked at completed suicides — not people who were suicidal and weren’t successful in following through with their suicide.
And that’s a big difference, because the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tell us that only 1 in 25 attempted suicides are successful…”
If coffee’s preventing ACTUAL suicides, as the numbers suggest, who CARES about a bunch of scratched wrists? Duh!
Coffee is a stimulant. It improves mood and helps people more productive. But while it’s tempting to reach for more coffee, it can also work against you because too much caffeine can cause jitters. Look for other ways to improve move aside from coffee. You can go for a walk or take Vitamin C.