Women who drink caffeinated coffee in midlife are more likely to be healthy agers, according to a recent study.
A large study is suggesting that women who consume caffeinated coffee in midlife are more likely to be healthy agers. However, tea and decaf coffee may not provide the same benefits. Additionally, researchers found that drinking colas was strongly associated with lesser likelihood of healthy aging.
Researchers conducted a study with almost 48,000 women who were followed for 30 years. They found that a morning cup of coffee might do more than boost energy and could also help women stay sharp, strong and mentally well as they age.
"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," said Dr. Sara Mahdavi, who is with Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public health, Harvard University in Boston. "The findings suggest that caffeinated coffee, not tea or decaf, may uniquely support aging trajectories that preserve both mental and physical function."
The study included 47,513 women from the Nurses' health Study with dietary and health data collected since 1984. The researchers assessed caffeine intake using validated food frequency questionnaires that included consumption of top contributors of caffeine such as coffee, tea, cola and decaffeinated coffee. Healthy aging was defined as living to age 70 or older, being free from 11 major chronic diseases, maintaining physical function, having good mental health, exhibiting no cognitive impairment and showing no memory complaints.
After 30 years of follow-up, the investigators estimated how the likelihood of healthy aging changed for every 80 mg of caffeine that study participants consumed per day. They also examined specific drinks like coffee, tea, decaffeinated coffee (per 8-ounce cup) and cola (per 12-ounce glass). The team also accounted for other factors that might influence healthy aging such as body weight, smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, education level and protein in the diet.
By 2016, 3,706 of the women in the study met all the requirements to be considered healthy agers. In midlife, ages 45-60, these women typically consumed an average of 315 mg of caffeine per day. That is roughly the amount in three small cups of coffee or one and a half large cups by today's standards. More than 80% of that caffeine came from regular coffee consumption.
For women in the healthy agers group, each extra cup of coffee per day was tied to a 2% to 5% higher chance of doing well later in life, up to five small cups per day, or about 2.5 cups according to today's measures. "Our study has several key strengths," said Dr. Mahdavi. "In addition to the large sample size and 30 years of follow-up, we assessed several different aspects of longevity and healthy aging as well as very comprehensive information on nutritional and lifestyle habits that were collected every four years after the initiation of the study."
The researchers did not find any significant association between drinking decaffeinated coffee or tea with an increased likelihood of healthy aging. Each additional small glass of soda, another major source of caffeine, was associated with a 20% to 26% lower likelihood of healthy aging. "These results, while preliminary, suggest that small, consistent habits can shape long-term health," said Dr. Mahdavi. "Moderate coffee intake may offer some protective benefits when combined with other healthy behaviors such as regular exercise, a healthy diet and avoiding smoking. While this study adds to prior evidence suggesting coffee intake may be linked with healthy aging, the benefits from coffee are relatively modest compared to the impact of overall healthy lifestyle habits and warrant further investigation."
The researchers note that, in general, up to two cups of coffee per day should be safe and potentially beneficial for most people. Coffee contains a range of compounds that could act synergistically to influence aging pathways. To better understand these effects, researchers plan to investigate how specific bioactive compounds in coffee interact with genetic and metabolic aging markers, especially in women. Understanding these mechanisms could guide personalized medicine approaches to develop diets that support longevity and cognitive health for individuals.
MIND diet linked to reduced dementia risk
It may be possible to lower your risk for dementia by making some small dietary changes. A new study has found that individuals who follow a dietary pattern known as the MIND diet are significantly less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease or related forms of dementia. The MIND diet, which stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, combines the Mediterranean diet with the blood pressure-lowering DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. It emphasizes proven brain-healthy foods like leafy green vegetables, berries, nuts and olive oil. https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/healthy-weight/diet-reviews/mind-diet/
Researchers found that the MIND diet had a stronger and more consistent risk reduction relationship with dementia than other healthy diets, although the relationship varied among five racial groups. Those who improved their adherence to the diet the most over time showed the greatest pattern of risk reduction. This beneficial relationship was seen similarly among younger and older groups, suggesting that there are benefits to adopting the diet at any age.
"Our study findings confirm that healthy dietary patterns in mid to late life and their improvement over time may prevent Alzheimer's and related dementias," said Song-Yi Park, who is an associate professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. "This suggests that it is never too late to adopt a healthy diet to prevent dementia."
The team analyzed data from nearly 93,000 U.S. adults who provided information about their diet as part of a research cohort known as the Multiethnic Cohort Study starting in the 1990s. Participants were between 45-75 years old at baseline and over 21,000 developed Alzheimer's or related dementias in the years that followed.
Overall, participants who scored higher for MIND adherence at baseline had a 9% lower risk of dementia, with an even greater reduction (13%) among those who identified as African American, Latino or White. Baseline MIND diet adherence was not associated with a significant risk reduction among Native Hawaiian or Asian American participants.
"We found that the protective relationship between a healthy diet and dementia was more pronounced among African Americans, Latinos and Whites, while it was not as apparent among Asian Americans and showed a weaker trend in Native Hawaiians," Park said. "A tailored approach may be needed when evaluating different subpopulations' diet quality."
The results also showed that people who improved their adherence to MIND over 10 years, including those who didn't follow the diet closely at first, had a 25% lower risk of dementia compared to those whose adherence declined. This trend was consistent across different ages and racial groups.
Researchers said that differences in dietary patterns and preferences among racial and ethnic groups could play a role in the variation they observed in the dementia-diet relationship. Since Asian Americans also experience lower rates of dementia than other groups, it is possible that the MIND diet may not reflect the advantages of diets that are more common among this population. Park said that further studies could help to clarify these patterns and added that interventional studies would be needed to verify cause and effect since the study was based on observational data.
John Schieszer is an award-winning national journalist and radio and podcast broadcaster of The Medical Minute. He can be reached at medicalminutes@gmail.com.
John Schieszer is an award-winning national journalist and radio and podcast broadcaster of The Medical Minute.
