Seniors Drink Your Coffee
A new study by Swedish and Danish researchers suggests drinking coffee presents an interesting link to mental health now and in later life.These researchers tracked consumption of coffee in a group of 1,409 middle-aged men and women for the past 21 years. The study revealed 61 participants developed dementia and 48 developed Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers found individuals consuming three to five cups of coffee daily were 65% less likely to develop dementia, compared to those who drank two cups or less. Although this was a lengthy study with interesting findings, the researchers did report there were not enough people in the study to draw statistically significant conclusions. Researchers did consider exiting health factors including cholesterol and high blood pressure, when performing the 21 year study.
Dr. Miia Kivipelto, an associate professor of neurology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and lead author of the study, does not as yet advocate drinking coffee as a preventive health measure. “This is an observational study,” she said. “We have no evidence that for people who are not drinking coffee, taking up drinking will have a protective effect.”
Dr. Kivipelto and her colleagues suggest several possibilities for why coffee might reduce the risk of dementia later in life. First, earlier studies have linked coffee consumption with a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes, which in turn has been associated with a greater risk of dementia. In animal studies, caffeine has been shown to reduce the formation of amyloid plaques in the brain, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. Finally, coffee may have an antioxidant effect in the bloodstream, reducing vascular risk factors for dementia.
Dr. Kivipelto noted that previous studies have shown that coffee drinking may also be linked to a reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease.
The new study, published this month in The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, is unusual in that more than 70 percent of the original group of 2,000 people randomly selected for tracking were available for re-examination 21 years later. The dietary information had been collected at the beginning of the study, which reduced the possibility of errors introduced by people inaccurately recalling their consumption. Still, the authors acknowledge that any self-reported data is subject to inaccuracies.
Also check out Coffee Facts.
Filed under: Nutrition for Senior Citizens
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