Diet Pop Linked To Depression

If this is true, I expect to be one depressed dude in the next few years.  I drink a fair amount of Diet Coke, so much of it a few years ago that I seriously thought I was addicted.

There was a study released in Live Science outlining the connection of sweetened drinks to depression later in life.  In 1995 and 1996, over 250,000 adults answered questions about what they drank.  Approximately ten years later, the same people were asked if they had been diagnosed with depression in the last 5 years.

They found people who regularly drank 4 or more cans of pop every day were 30% more likely to have been diagnosed with depression.  The rate for "regular pop" drinkers was 22%.

Is it time for me to switch back to water?  Well, who knows.  Looking at this logically, there was a LOT that changed in our world between 1996 and 2006 that could account for a higher level of depression.  From what I can tell, the study didn't measure rates in people who DIDN'T drink sweetened drinks.  I'd be curious to know the rates of those who drank water during that study.

Here's text of the full study:

More than 263,900 US adults answered questions about their beverage consumption between 1995 and 1996, and about 10 years later, they were asked if they had been diagnosed with depression since the year 2000. Those who regularly consumed four or more cans per day of any type of soda were 30% more likely to have been diagnosed with depression, but those who chose diet soda saw a 31% increased risk compared to just 22% for regular-soda-drinkers. Regular drinkers of diet fruit drinks also saw an increased risk of depression: They were 51% more likely to have been diagnosed, compared to those who didn't consume such drinks. Not sure what to replace your diet soda or diet fruit drink habit with? Try coffee: Regular coffee drinkers were 10% less likely to have been diagnosed with depression than those who stay away from cups o' joe. Or you could just stick with your favorite beverage for now: The study didn't actually determine whether any particular drink was to blame for the depression. But, LiveScience notes, other studies have found a similar link between sweetened beverages and depression.