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Drinking Coffee Linked to Lower Dementia Risk

· Confirmed

Health Desk

In Short: New research suggests that regularly consuming caffeinated coffee is associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing dementia.

According to a study published in the Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, people who drank one to four cups of coffee daily had a 'significantly' lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Food & Wine reported that the research, which analyzed dietary and health data, found participants who consumed higher levels of caffeinated coffee and tea had an 18% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those who consumed little to no caffeine.

The study, which followed 11,033 people over time, found that regular coffee consumption was associated with better cognitive health as people aged.

Science Daily highlighted that the findings were based on follow-up periods extending as long as 43 years, providing a valuable look at how everyday drinking habits relate to brain health over time.

ZME Science noted that when researchers pooled data from both cohorts, they found that those in the highest quartile of coffee consumption were 18% less likely to develop dementia than their peers who drank the least, after adjusting for other lifestyle and health factors.

The world consumes around 2.25 billion cups of coffee daily, according to ZME Science.

Artvoice reported that researchers used AI to analyze more than a decade of patient health records from the UF Health system, identifying thousands of patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's and related dementias.

In a separate study, researchers found that Alzheimer's patients on glucosamine had a 25% higher risk of death, as reported by Blavity.

Blavity also noted that biochemists and neurobiologists at the University of Florida discovered a link between regular glucosamine supplements and a 25% increased likelihood of developing full clinical dementia from mild cognitive impairment.

Everydayhealth quoted Xiang Qi, PhD, an assistant professor at the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, who said the magnitude of the increased risk associated with diabetes and dementia was striking.

Inews reported that nearly one million people in the UK are living with dementia, a number predicted to rise to 1.4 million by 2040.

Scitechdaily highlighted that the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing followed people for 17 years and found that the more active people were, the lower their risk of dementia.

What this adds

The research adds to existing evidence linking coffee consumption to cognitive health, but does not establish a direct causal relationship.

The studies do not address the potential mechanisms by which coffee might reduce dementia risk.

The research does not account for individual variations in coffee consumption or other lifestyle factors that could influence cognitive health.

Background

A study published in General Psychiatry found that daily exposure to bright light may reduce the risk of dementia.

What's confirmed

What's still developing

Sources