Soft Drink Consumption Linked to Major Depressive Disorder

THURSDAY, Oct. 2, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Soft drink consumption may contribute to major depressive disorder (MDD) through alterations in gut microbiota, according to a study published online Sept. 24 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Sharmili Edwin Thanarajah, M.D., from the Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and colleagues examined the association between soft drink consumption and MDD diagnosis and severity and whether the association is mediated by changes in the gut microbiota in a multicenter cohort study. The analyses included 405 patients with MDD and 527 healthy controls (aged 18 to 65 years) recruited from the general population and primary care between September 2014 and September 2018.

The researchers found that soft drink consumption predicted MDD diagnosis (odds ratio, 1.081) and symptom severity (partial η², 0.012), with stronger effects seen in women (diagnosis: odds ratio, 1.167; partial η², 0.036). Consumption was linked to increased Eggerthella but not Hungatella abundance in women. In a mediation analysis, Eggerthella significantly mediated the association between soft drinks and MDD diagnosis and severity, accounting for 3.82 and 5.00 percent of the effect, respectively.

“The study found that women have a particular susceptibility in this gut microbiome, to diet in general, and specifically these pro-inflammatory components,” Anna K. Costakis, M.D., from Northwell Staten Island University Hospital in New York, said in a statement. “This has been found in several other studies as well, that women tend to be more vulnerable than men to the effects of unhealthy diet and pro-inflammatory diets.”

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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