Coffee Lowers Depression Risk in Women

Maybe those pit stops at Starbucks are really worth it after all. In a new study, women who downed two to three cups of caffeinated coffee a day were 15% less likely to experience depression; those who drank 4 cups or more, 20% less likely. The Harvard study of more than 50,000 US nurses over a 24-year period was the largest of its kind, and researchers indicate it may apply to men as well.

The study gels with an earlier finding that moderate coffee drinkers have a lower chance of committing suicide, My Health News Daily reports. Other research has linked coffee-drinking to a lower risk of prostate cancer, breast cancer, and stroke. One psychiatry professor urges caution, however, noting the new study only considered nurses and didn't ask them whether they faced challenges in life that might have caused depression. (More coffee stories.)