Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T15:31:44.611Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Green tea consumption in everyday life and mental health

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Mari Shimbo ,
Keiko Nakamura ,
Hui Jing Shi ,
Masashi Kizuki ,
Kaoruko Seino ,
Tomoko Inose  and
Takehito Takano
Mari Shimbo
Affiliation:
Health Promotion/International Health, Division of Public Health, Graduate School of Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Yushima 1-5-45, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan
Keiko Nakamura
Affiliation:
Health Promotion/International Health, Division of Public Health, Graduate School of Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Yushima 1-5-45, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan
Hui Jing Shi
Affiliation:
Health Promotion/International Health, Division of Public Health, Graduate School of Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Yushima 1-5-45, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan
Masashi Kizuki
Affiliation:
Health Promotion/International Health, Division of Public Health, Graduate School of Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Yushima 1-5-45, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan
Kaoruko Seino
Affiliation:
Health Promotion/International Health, Division of Public Health, Graduate School of Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Yushima 1-5-45, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan
Tomoko Inose
Affiliation:
Health Promotion/International Health, Division of Public Health, Graduate School of Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Yushima 1-5-45, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan
Takehito Takano*
Affiliation:
Health Promotion/International Health, Division of Public Health, Graduate School of Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Yushima 1-5-45, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan
*
*Corresponding author: Email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objective

Green tea has been widely acknowledged in Japan to induce a pleasurable mental feeling. Recent laboratory studies have suggested positive psychological effects as a result of consuming green tea. The present study examined whether green tea consumption in everyday life in Japan is associated with positive mental health.

Design

A cross-sectional study was performed in February–March 2002.

Setting and subjects

The subjects of the study consisted of a general population of 600 Japanese aged 20–69 years. Responses of 380 subjects, obtained by home-visit interview, were analysed. The questionnaire inquired about consumption of brewed green tea and other beverages, perceived mental health status, lifestyle and others. The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ 12) was used for the assessment of mental ill-health (GHQ score ≥4).

Results

After adjustments for age, area, perceived mental stress, lifestyle and daily caffeine intake, the consumption of brewed green tea was not statistically associated with any decrease in risk of mental ill-health among either males or females (odds ratio (OR) = 0.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.47–1.29 for males; OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.51–1.14 for females). Daily caffeine intake (100 mg) inclusive of green tea, black tea, coffee and other caffeine-containing beverages was associated with a higher risk of mental ill-health among females (OR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.01–1.56).

Conclusions

The results provide population-based evidence on the consumption of brewed green tea in everyday life and mental health, together with information on consumption patterns of various beverages and lifestyles.

Keywords

Green teaMental healthCaffeineStress
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 8 , Issue 8 , December 2005 , pp. 1300 - 1306
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2005

References

1Maron, DJ, Lu, GP, Cai, NS, Wu, ZG, Li, YH, Chen, H, et al. Cholesterol-lowering effect of a theaflavin-enriched green tea extract: a randomized controlled trial. Archives of Internal Medicine 2003; 163: 1448–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2Tokunaga, S, White, IR, Frost, C, Tanaka, K, Kono, S, Tokudome, S, et al. Green tea consumption and serum lipids and lipoproteins in a population of healthy workers in Japan. Annals of Epidemiology 2002; 12: 157–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3Imai, K, Suga, K, Nakachi, K. Cancer-preventive effects of drinking green tea among a Japanese population. Preventive Medicine 1997; 26: 769–75.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4Wu, AH, Yu, MC, Tseng, CC, Hankin, J, Pike, MC. Green tea and risk of breast cancer in Asian Americans. International Journal of Cancer 2003; 106: 574–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5Jian, L, Xie, LP, Lee, AH, Binns, CW. Protective effect of green tea against prostate cancer: a case–control study in southeast China. International Journal of Cancer 2004; 108: 130–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6Kobayashi, K, Nagato, Y, Aoi, N, Juneja, LR, Kim, M, Yamamoto, T, et al. Effect of l-theanine on release of α-brain waves in human volunteers. Nippon Nogeikagaku Kaishi 1998; 72: 153–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7Juneja, LR, Chu, DC, Okubo, T, Nagato, Y, Yokogoshi, H. l-Theanine – a unique amino acid of green tea and its relaxation effect in humans. Trends in Food Science and Technology 1999; 10: 199–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8Yagyu, T, Wackermann, J, Kinoshita, T, Hirota, T, Kochi, K, Kondakor, I, et al. Chewing-gum flavor affects measures of global complexity of multichannel EEG. Neuropsychobiology 1997; 35: 46–50.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9Nakagawa, M. Correlation of the constituents with taste of green tea. Journal of Food Science and Technology 1970; 17: 154–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10Mino, Y, Shigemi, J, Tsuda, T, Yasuda, N, Bebbington, P. Perceived job stress and mental health in precision machine workers of Japan: a 2 year cohort study. Occupational and Environmental Medicine 1999; 56: 41–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11Shigemi, J, Mino, Y, Tsuda, T, Babazono, A, Aoyama, H. The relationship between job stress and mental health at work. Industrial Health 1997; 35: 29–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12Caspi, A, Sugden, K, Moffitt, TE, Taylor, A, Craig, IW, Harrington, H, et al. Influence of life stress on depression: moderation by a polymorphism in the 5-HTT gene. Science 2003; 301: 386–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13Kendler, KS, Karkowski, LM, Prescott, CA. Causal relationship between stressful life events and the onset of major depression. American Journal of Psychiatry 1999; 156: 837–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14Kessler, RC. The effects of stressful life events on depression. Annual Review of Psychology 1997; 48: 191–214.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15Pine, DS, Cohen, P, Johnson, JG, Brook, JS. Adolescent life events as predictors of adult depression. Journal of Affective Disorders 2002; 68: 49–57.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16Ezoe, S, Morimoto, K. Behavioral lifestyle and mental health status of Japanese factory workers. Preventive Medicine 1994; 23: 98–105.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17Smith, AP. Breakfast and mental health. International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition 1998; 49: 397–402.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18Benton, D, Slater, O, Donohoe, RT. The influence of breakfast and a snack on psychological functioning. Physiology & Behavior 2001; 74: 559–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19Smith, AP. Breakfast cereal consumption and subjective reports of health. International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition 1999; 50: 445–59.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20Kull, M. The relationships between physical activity, health status and psychological well-being of fertility-aged women. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports 2002; 12: 241–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21Simonsick, EM. Personal health habits and mental health in a national probability sample. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 1991; 7: 425–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22Martinez, JA, Mota, GA, Vianna, ES, Filho, JT, Silva, GA, Rodrigues, AL Jr. Impaired quality of life of healthy young smokers. Chest 2004; 125: 425–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23Tanaka, H, Taira, K, Arakawa, M, Masuda, A, Yamamoto, Y, Komoda, Y, et al. An examination of sleep health, lifestyle and mental health in junior high school students. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 2002; 56: 235–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24Smith, A. Effects of caffeine on human behavior. Food Chemistry and Toxicology 2002; 40: 1243–55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25Quinlan, PT, Lane, J, Moore, KL, Aspen, J, Rycroft, JA, O'Brien, DC. The acute physiological and mood effects of tea and coffee: the role of caffeine level. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior 2000; 66: 19–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
26Loke, WH. Effects of caffeine on mood and memory. Physiology & Behavior 1988; 44: 367–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27Kaplan, GB, Greenblatt, DJ, Ehrenberg, BL, Goddard, JE, Cotreau, MM, Harmatz, JS, et al. Dose-dependent pharmacokinetics and psychomotor effects of caffeine in humans. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 1997; 37: 693–703.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
28Ministry of Internal Affairs Communications. Family Income and Expenditure Survey in Japan. Tokyo: Ministry of Internal Affairs, 2002.Google Scholar
29Ministry of Internal Affairs Communications. Population Census of Japan. Tokyo: Ministry of Internal Affairs, 2000.Google Scholar
30Science and Technology Agency Japan. Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. 5th ed. Tokyo: Ministry of Finance, 2000.Google Scholar
31Goldberg, DP. The Detection of Psychiatric Illness by Questionnaire. London: Oxford University Press, 1972.Google Scholar
32McDowell, I, Newell, C. Measuring Health: A Guide to Rating Scales and Questionnaires. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996; 225–37.Google Scholar
33Research Group of Green Tea. Brewing condition of tasty cup of green tea. Tea Research Journal 1973; 40: 58–66.Google Scholar
34Lieberman, HR, Wurtman, RJ, Emde, GC, Roberts, C, Coviella, ILG. The effects of low doses of caffeine on human performance and mood. Psychopharmacology 1987; 92: 308–12.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
35Smit, HJ, Rogers, PJ. Effects of low doses of caffeine on cognitive performance, mood and thirst in low and higher caffeine consumers. Psychopharmacology 2000; 152: 167–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
36Hindmarch, I, Quinlan, PT, Moore, KL, Parkin, C. The effects of black tea and other beverages on aspects of cognition and psychomotor performance. Psychopharmacology 1998; 139: 230–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
37Henry, JP, Stephens-Larson, P. Reduction of chronic psychosocial hypertension in mice by decaffeinated tea. Hypertension 1984; 6: 437–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
38Stavric, B. Methylxanthines: toxicity to humans. 2. Caffeine. Food Chemistry and Toxicology 1988; 26: 645–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed