New study shows drinking coffee is associated with lower risk of death
(but not instant coffee)
Scientists studied 468,629 people. Light-to-moderate coffee consumption was associated with a 12% lower risk of overall mortality, a 17% lower risk of death caused by cardiovascular diseases, and 21% lower risk of stroke.
A new study by Judit Simon, Kenneth Fung, Nay Aung, Mohammed Y Khanji, Márton Kolossváry, Stefan K. Piechnik, Stefan Neubauer, Pál Maurovich-Horvat from Queen Mary University of London and the Budapest Semmelweis University has shown that having up to three cups of coffee a day is associated with a protective effect on heart health. It is also associated with a reduction in the overall mortality rate and the risk of stroke.
The researchers analysed data from 468,629 UK Biobank participants, who didn’t have a record of heart disease.
The participants were asked about their coffee-drinking habits and lifestyle (for example smoking and physical exercise) in a detailed questionnaire and data was also gathered on their individual cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol level.
The participants were divided into three groups: non-coffee drinkers, light-to-moderate coffee-drinkers, and those who consumed a significant amount of coffee a day. The researchers also used MRI scans to gain a better understanding of how coffee-drinking habits affect the anatomy and functioning of the heart over time.
Professor Steffen Petersen of the William Harvey Research Institute at Queen Mary University of London said: “The large sample size, linked health data, and detailed heart MRI scans available in the UK Biobank offered a strong base to address this research question. According to the results, light-to-moderate coffee consumption is not damaging from a cardiovascular point of view, and it could be beneficial. As far as we know, this has been the largest study to date which focused on the effect of coffee on cardiovascular health.”
Co-author Dr. Zahra Raisi-Estabragh, NIHR Clinical Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, added: “Most of the participants drank either ground or instant coffee. The ground coffee in moderate amounts was associated with lower mortality risk – but this benefit was not found amongst the regular instant coffee drinkers. The reason behind this may relate to the different production process of the ground and instant forms as they contain different additives.”
Dr. Judit Simon, PhD student at the Semmelweis University, who led the study said: “Light-to-moderate coffee consumption was associated with a 12% lower risk of overall mortality, and with a 17% lower risk of death caused by cardiovascular diseases compared to non-coffee drinkers. In addition, from half to three cups of coffee was associated with a 21 % lower risk of stroke.”
Dr. Pál Maurovich-Horvat, the Director of the Medical Imaging Centre at the Semmelweis University, who supervised the study said: “Using the MRI scans we were able to analyse the effect of regular coffee intake on the structure and function of the heart. We found that regular light-to-moderate coffee consumption is beneficial for the health of the heart, with suggestion that it can slow down age-related cardiac changes. It’s also important to highlight that even for those who were heavy coffee-drinkers, we did not find evidence of negative cardiovascular consequences”
