Jan 22, 2025 12:30:00

Coffee drinking linked to lower dementia risk, but it must be unsweetened and caffeinated

Coffee has

various health benefits, including reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, and research has shown that drinking about three cups of coffee a day is associated with an increase in life expectancy of about two years. A paper published by a Chinese research team showed that although coffee drinking is associated with a reduced risk of dementia, the association differs depending on the type of coffee.

Associations between different coffee types, neurodegenerative diseases, and related mortality: findings from a large prospective cohort study - ScienceDirect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002916524006713

Study Finds Coffee Linked to Lower Risk of Dementia, But There's a Catch : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/study-finds-coffee-linked-to-lower-risk-of-dementia-but-theres-a-catch

Previous studies have suggested that coffee consumption is associated with a lower risk of neurodegenerative disease, but coffee is often consumed with added sugar or artificial sweeteners, and while sugar intake has been linked to adverse health effects, previous studies did not take into account the type of coffee consumed.

The research team investigated the association between consumption of different types of coffee - sugared, artificially sweetened, unsweetened, and decaffeinated - and mortality from Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, Parkinson's disease, and neurodegenerative diseases.

The analysis used health records from 204,847 people collected in the UK Biobank, a large biobank in the UK. Participants were aged between 40 and 69 at the start of the study, and data included coffee consumption habits, diagnoses of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, Parkinson's disease, and deaths from neurodegenerative diseases over a median period of nine years.

The analysis found that coffee drinkers were at least 34% less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, 37% less likely to develop Parkinson's disease, and 47% less likely to die from neurodegenerative diseases during the study period compared to non-coffee drinkers. The reduced risk of neurodegenerative diseases was strongest in people who drank three or more cups of coffee per day.

However, the association between coffee consumption and a reduced risk of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease could only be confirmed if the coffee was 'unsweetened' and 'caffeinated. ' In other words, consumption of coffee with added sugar or artificial sweeteners or decaffeinated coffee was not associated with a reduced risk of neurodegenerative diseases.

The findings suggest that some property of caffeine protects the brain against diseases such as dementia, and that sugar and artificial sweeteners may counteract these benefits, but more research is needed to know for sure.

'Adding sugar or artificial sweeteners to coffee should be done with caution as this may have harmful effects. Instead, the consumption of unsweetened caffeinated coffee is recommended,' the research team said.