Dark chocolate lowers depression in menopausal women – RCT

The study, conducted at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran, suggests that consuming 78% dark chocolate for eight weeks may contribute to improvements in depression scores, but it does not appear to improve sleep quality or anthropometric indices like weight, waist and hip circumferences.

“The results obtained from this study showed that daily consumption of 10 g of 78% dark chocolate has beneficial effects on mild and moderate depression scores in menopausal women. ​

“These findings can be helpful in nutritional education related to lifestyle modification for menopausal women, as chocolate consumption is an easy and enjoyable complementary method,” ​wrote researchers in Scientific Reports​.

Menopause is associated with problems such as poor sleep quality and an increase in body fat percentage. Additionally, menopausal women are more likely to have negative mood symptoms such as anxiety and depression.

High body mass index (BMI) and sleep problems are also considered risk factors for menopausal depression.

As menopausal women tend to prefer natural remedies, cocoa emerged as a potential treatment ingredient as it is rich in polyphenols – micronutrients that are known to alleviate depression and aid weight loss.

The primary objective of this study was to determine the effect of 78% dark chocolate on depression scores.

Cocoa effects on sleep quality, and anthropometric indices such as weight, BMI, waist circumference, and hip circumference, are secondary outcomes of this study.

Daily dose of dark chocolate​

Sixty menopausal women between 45–65 years old were recruited for this randomised, triple-blind clinical trial.

The eight-week trial was conducted in healthcare centres in Tabriz, Iran.

Thirty women in the intervention group ate 12g 78% cocoa dark chocolate daily, while the remaining 30 ate 12g milk chocolate daily, which contained less than 2% cocoa.

The chocolates were from a local Tabriz chocolate factory. Except for the cocoa content, all chocolates had the same nutritional composition per 6g of 32 kilocalories, 3.2g carbohydrates, 2.03g fat, 0.025g salt, and zero trans-fat.

Reduced depression, but no significant benefits for sleep and weight​

The mean depression score before intervention was 18.3 ± 3.9 in the dark chocolate group and 18.8 ± 4.9 in the milk chocolate group. There were no significant differences between these scores.

Post intervention, the mean depression score in the dark chocolate group was 15.3 ± 4.8 and 18.1 ± 5.5 in the milk chocolate group. This indicated a statistically significant difference.

However, there were no statistically significant differences in the overall sleep quality score observed between the two groups after the intervention.

The baseline Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores were 8.4 ± 4.2 for both groups.

Post intervention, the mean sleep quality scores were 7.3 ± 4.2 for the dark chocolate group and 7.6 ± 4.1 for the milk chocolate group.

At the end of eight weeks, there were also no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of anthropometric indices, such as body weight, BMI, waist and hip circumferences.

For example, the mean weight in the dark chocolate group was 77.19 ± 12.35kg at baseline and 77.03 ± 12.27kg post intervention.

For the milk chocolate group, the mean weight was 73.21 ± 11.95kg at baseline and 73.34 ± 12.05kg post intervention.

This study showed that daily consumption of 10 g of 78% dark chocolate, compared to milk chocolate, did not have a beneficial effect on weight, BMI, waist circumference, and hip circumference in menopausal women. These findings are consistent with previous research.

Dark chocolate for eight weeks also failed to improve sleep quality in menopausal women in this study.

“The study suggests that consuming 78% dark chocolate for eight weeks may contribute to improvements in depression scores, but it does not appear to improve sleep quality or anthropometric indices,”​ concluded the researchers.

More research is required to identify the precise ingredient in dark chocolate and the mechanism by which it helps menopausal women with depression. It will also be essential to find the optimal amount and duration of the intake of dark chocolate to reap the benefits for this population.