Longitudinal Effects of Lifetime Caffeine Consumption on Levels of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress: A Comprehensive Review.

Abstract

Purpose of review: Caffeine has high bioavailability and a purine-like alkaloid structure. It exerts wide-ranging physiological effects by binding to adenosine receptors throughout the human body. Through the activation of those receptors, it can regulate many physiological events in the body. The impact of caffeine consumption on depression, anxiety, stress, and human health remains unclear, constituting an important knowledge gap. This review was conducted to examine the effects of caffeine consumption on depression, anxiety, and stress levels and to offer some recommendations for its future use.

Recent findings: We performed a comprehensive literature search using PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases for original articles published in recent years on "caffeine metabolism", "caffeine mechanism", "anxiety", "depression", "stress". Caffeine, which has an antagonistic effect on adenosine, can reduce the risk and symptoms of depression and improve general mental health by modulating the central nervous system and neurotransmitter systems. However, increases in anxiety and stress levels, which are often seen together with depression, are observed due to high-dose caffeine consumption. Caffeine's effects on depression, anxiety, and stress may vary depending on different factors, but the level of consumption is particularly important and attention should be paid to upper limits and reference values while evaluating consumption amounts.