Higher
coffee consumption associated with lower risk of early death
European Society of
Cardiology
Higher coffee
consumption is associated with a lower risk of death, according to research
presented at ESC Congress. The observational study in nearly 20,000
participants suggests that coffee can be part of a healthy diet in healthy
people.
"Coffee is one of
the most widely consumed beverages around the world," said Dr Adela
Navarro, a cardiologist at Hospital de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain. "Previous
studies have suggested that drinking coffee might be inversely associated with
all-cause mortality but this has not been investigated in a Mediterranean
country."
The purpose of this
study was to examine the association between coffee consumption and the risk of
mortality in a middle-aged Mediterranean cohort. The study was conducted within
the framework of the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) Project, a
long-term prospective cohort study in more than 22 500 Spanish university
graduates which started in 1999.
This analysis included 19,896 participants of the SUN Project, whose average age at enrollment was 37.7 years old.
On entering the study, participants completed a previously
validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire to collect information
on coffee consumption, lifestyle and sociodemographic characteristics,
anthropometric measurements, and previous health conditions.
Patients were
followed-up for an average of ten years. Information on mortality was obtained
from study participants and their families, postal authorities, and the
National Death Index. Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios
(HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for incident mortality according to
baseline total coffee consumption adjusted for potential confounders.
During the ten year
period, 337 participants died. The researchers found that participants who
consumed at least four cups of coffee per day had a 64% lower risk of all-cause
mortality than those who never or almost never consumed coffee (adjusted HR,
0.36; 95% CI, 0.19-0.70). There was a 22% lower risk of all-cause mortality for
each two additional cups of coffee per day (adjusted HR, 0.78; 95% CI,
0.66-0.92).
The researchers
examined whether sex, age or adherence to the Mediterranean diet had any
influence on the association between baseline coffee consumption and mortality.
They observed a significant interaction between coffee consumption and age (p
for interaction=0.0016). In those who were at least 45 years old, drinking two
additional cups of coffee per day was associated with a 30% lower risk of
mortality during follow-up (adjusted HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.58-0.85). The association
was not significant among younger participants.
Dr Navarro said:
"In the SUN project we found an inverse association between drinking
coffee and the risk of all-cause mortality, particularly in people aged 45
years and above. This may be due to a stronger protective association among
older participants."
She concluded:
"Our findings suggest that drinking four cups of coffee each day can be
part of a healthy diet in healthy people."