Does coffee boost longevity? 47,000 women were studied for 30 years to find out
Drinking moderate amounts of coffee in midlife may boost healthy aging decades later, according to a study presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition.
The findings add to the existing body of research showing there may be health and longevity benefits to consuming coffee. Most of these studies are observational and do not directly show that consuming coffee necessarily causes better health, just that people who drink coffee often tend to be healthier — as measured by such metrics as lower cardiovascular mortality, lower risk of some cancers and lower risk of Type 2 diabetes.
The analysis, which followed more than 47,000 women over about 30 years, found that those who drank coffee during midlife, ages 45 to 60, were more likely to exhibit healthy aging later in life. On average, they consumed 315 milligrams of caffeine a day, the equivalent to about three small cups of coffee.
The researchers defined healthy aging as being at least 70 years old and free from 11 major chronic diseases — including heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, cancer and Parkinson's disease — with no major mental health or cognitive impairment or memory problems.
The study followed female nurses starting in 1984 and asked them to fill out questionnaires about their consumption of coffee, tea and soda. By 2016, about 3,700 women were considered part of the healthy aging group. Within that group, each extra cup of coffee a day was linked to a 2% to 5% higher chance of doing well later in life, up to five small cups a day.
The same link between coffee consumption and better health in later life was not found among women who drank tea, soda or decaffeinated coffee.
'While past studies have linked coffee to individual health outcomes, our study is the first to assess coffee's impact across multiple domains of aging over three decades,' Sara Mahdavi, an adjunct professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto who led the study, said in a statement. 'The findings suggest that caffeinated coffee — not tea or decaf — may uniquely support aging trajectories that preserve both mental and physical function.'
The study did not examine why caffeinated coffee and not other caffeinated beverages was linked to healthy aging. But previous research suggests that coffee contains antioxidants like polyphenols, which may help the body lower inflammation, reduce oxidative stress on cells and fight diseases.
The analysis accounted for other factors that influence healthy aging including body weight, smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, education level and protein in the diet.
'The takeaway is not that people should start drinking coffee for the sake of longevity, nor that more is better,' Mahdavi said. 'What we found is that moderate caffeinated coffee consumption — approximately 1 to 3 cups per day — was associated with a modestly higher likelihood of healthy aging over time.'
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