People who drink coffee – whether with or without sugar – appear to have a lower risk of dying early, although experts warn that the discovery may not be due to the drink itself.
About 98 million cups of coffee are drunk every day in the United Kingdom, according to the British Coffee Association, with the National Coffee Association revealing that the figure in the United States is about 517 million cups.
Previous studies have suggested that the drink may be beneficial to health, as drinking coffee is associated with a lower risk of conditions ranging from chronic liver disease to certain cancers and even dementia.
Researchers in China have now found that people who consume a moderate amount of coffee every day, whether or not sweetened with sugar, have a lower risk of death over a seven-year period than those who do not.
Similar results have been found for instant, ground and decaffeinated coffee.
The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, is based on data from more than 171,000 participants in the UK BioBank – which has collected genetic, lifestyle and health information from more than 500,000 people since its inception in 2006, including details of participants drinking coffee habits.
The team used death records to track participants over an average of seven years in 2009, during which 3,177 people died.
After considering factors including age, gender, ethnicity, educational level, smoking status, amount of physical activity, body mass index and diet, the team found that compared to non-drinkers, people who consume unsweetened coffee had the lowest risk of death.
The greatest reduction, 29% lower risk of death, was observed in those who drank between 2.5 and 4.5 glasses per day.
A reduction in the risk of death is also observed with coffee sweetened with sugar, at least for those who drink between 1.5 and 3.5 cups a day. The trend was less clear for people who use artificial sweeteners.
However, the study asked participants about coffee drinking and other habits only once and relied on self-assessment. Most of those who have used sugar add only one spoon to their drink – which means that it is not clear whether the results will be valid for special coffees with high sugar content.
Sign up for the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am BST
Navid Satar, a professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow who was not involved, warned that the findings – albeit intriguing – were unclear.
“The observational nature of this new study means that these conclusions are far from final,” he said.
“This is because people who drink coffee are generally wealthier and have healthier lives than those who do not, and I remain unsure whether these factors can be overcome in observational studies. Prof. Satar added that genetic evidence did not link coffee to any important health benefits.
“I would recommend that people stick to coffee or tea, preferably sugar -free, to which most people can adapt, and try to do all the other things we know keep you healthy – move more, move more, eat and sleep better.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Christina Wee, the magazine’s deputy editor, agreed that the findings were not convincing. But, she added, it seems that drinking coffee, whether unsweetened or low in sugar, is probably not harmful to most people.
“So drink, but it would be wise to avoid too much caramel macchiato while more evidence is being prepared,” she wrote.
Add Comment