Can
coffee reduce your risk of MS?
American Academy of Neurology
Drinking coffee may be associated with a lower
risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study that will be
presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 67th Annual Meeting in
Washington, DC, April 18 to 25, 2015.
"Caffeine intake has
been associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases,
and our study shows that coffee intake may also protect against MS, supporting
the idea that the drug may have protective effects for the brain," said
study author Ellen Mowry, MD, MCR, with Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine in Baltimore and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.
For the study, researchers
looked at a Swedish study of 1,629 people with MS and 2,807 healthy people, and
a U.S. study of 1,159 people with MS and 1,172 healthy people.
The studies
characterized coffee consumption among persons with MS one and five years
before MS symptoms began (as well as 10 years before MS symptoms began in the
Swedish study) and compared it to coffee consumption of people who did not have
MS at similar time periods.
The study also accounted for other factors such as
age, sex, smoking, body mass index, and sun exposure habits.
In the US study, people
who didn't drink coffee were also about one and a half times more likely to
develop the disease than those who drank four or more cups of coffee per day in
the year before symptoms started to develop the disease.
"Caffeine should be
studied for its impact on relapses and long-term disability in MS as
well," said Mowry.
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The study was supported by
the Swedish Medical Research Council, the Swedish Research Council for Health,
Working Life and Welfare, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg, AFA, and Swedish Brain
Foundations, the Swedish Association for Persons with Neurological Disabilities
and the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Institute
on Aging.
To learn more about MS,
please visit http://www.
The American Academy of
Neurology, an association of more than 28,000 neurologists and neuroscience
professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered
neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing,
treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as
Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury,
Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.
For more information about
the American Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.