Coffee Drinkers May Live Longer

Coffee Drinkers May Live Longer

Caffeine(kaˈfēn,ˈkafˌēn) is probably not responsible for the healthful effects of coffee.

By Nicholas(ˈnik(ə)ləs) Bakalar

Drinking coffee is associated with lower mortality(môrˈtalətē) rates(rāt), and a new study suggests that caffeine is not responsible for the effect.

Researchers had demographic(ˌdeməˈgrafik) and health data(ˈdatə,ˈdātə) on 498,134 British(ˈbritiSH) people, average(ˈav(ə)rij) age 57, including information on coffee consumption(kənˈsəm(p)SHən) and on the genetic(jəˈnetik) variants(ˈve(ə)rēənt) that affect(əˈfekt,ˈafekt) caffeine metabolism(məˈtabəˌlizəm). More than three-quarters(ˈkwôrtər) were coffee drinkers.

Over 10 years of follow-up, there were 14,255 deaths. They found that the risk of death from any cause(kôz), and particularly(pə(r)ˈtikyələrlē) from cancer and cardiovascular(ˌkärdēōˈvaskyələr) disease(diˈzēz), declined(diˈklīn) steadily as coffee consumption increased. Those who drank a cup a day had a 6 percent lower risk than those who drank less than that, and people who drank eight or more cups a day had a 14 percent lower risk.

The study, in JAMA Internal Medicine(ˈmedisən), adjusted for age, race(rās), smoking, sex(seks), body mass index, alcohol(-ˌhäl,ˈalkəˌhôl) consumption and other health and behavioral factors.

The associations were similar for ground and instant coffee, and for caffeinated(ˈkafəˌnātid) and decaffeinated. Moreover, it made no difference whether people had the genetic(jəˈnetik) variants for slower or faster caffeine metabolism(məˈtabəˌlizəm).

Does this observational(ˌäbzərˈvāSHən) study mean that everyone should drink more coffee? No, said the lead author, Erikka Loftfield, a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute.

“At this point, the study provides reassurance(ˌrēəˈSHo͝orəns) to coffee drinkers, not guidance(ˈgīdns). The results don’t indicate that people should begin drinking coffee for its health benefits.”

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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/02/well/coffee-drinkers-may-live-longer.html