Could coffee drinking help protect against an early death?

I'm a long-time green-tea drinker. And each time a study has touted the health benefits of my favorite morning beverage, I've smugly given myself a pat on the back for (quite inadvertently) making a healthy choice.

Coffee drinkers, however, haven't had as many opportunities for self-congratulations, as studies have alternately labeled coffee drinking a virtue or a vice. But some recent studies have given coffee-lovers more reason to savor their cup of joe, with reports that coffee drinkers may be less likely to get heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer.

The newest study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggests that long-time coffee drinkers have a slightly lower chance of dying earlier than expected, mainly because they are less likely to die from heart disease. Researchers found that women coffee drinkers were most likely to benefit. Men who drank coffee also had a slightly lower chance of dying, but the difference was very small and could have been due to chance.

Interestingly, the results were similar whether people drank regular or decaf coffee, suggesting that something in the coffee other than caffeine might have a beneficial effect.

What you need to know. If you drink coffee, these findings might have you brewing up another pot or two. The researchers caution, though, that more studies are needed before we know for sure whether drinking coffee can help protect against an early death from heart disease or anything else. The study also didn't look at how much coffee might be healthy to drink. And for those of us who like our beverages loaded, too much caffeine can cause headaches, restlessness, anxiety and lost sleep, among other problems.

So, as with most things, moderation is probably the wisest approach.

—Sophie Ramsey, patient editor, BMJ Group

ConsumerReportsHealth.org has partnered with The BMJ Group to monitor the latest medical research and assess the evidence to help you decide which news you should use.

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Comments

[Stan]

@doris:

You have to understand that any factor that increases risk or protects from disease does not affect 100% of individuals. No single medication, exposure, protection, or accident harms or saves 100% of people.

Just because someone gets diabetes while drinking coffee doesn't mean the coffee didn't give him any protective effect. Perhaps he would have had the diabetes earlier had he NOT drunk coffee. Perhaps the coffee made his diabetes less severe. Perhaps the coffee did not help him -- we do not know. Perhaps the genetic or lifestyle factors were much stronger than the coffee factor.

But, to your point, the effects of drinking something: coffee, tea, alcohol, needs to be studied on large populations over a large period of time, and the studies need to and have been repeated with different methodology, many of them showing a protective effect of coffee. Several studies say that coffee delays the onset of Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases.

One study claimed that coffee doubled the risk of miscarriage, but I read that study, and the study has a very large selection bias flaw and cannot be trusted. A repeat study with better methodology would be able to discern a true effect.

[m]

leaded in the context of coffee refers to caffeine and unleaded to decaf.

[wgr]

"And for those of us who like our beverages leaded, too much caffeine can cause headaches, restlessness, anxiety and lost sleep, among other problems."

Please explain "leaded". Should we ingest lead with our coffee? Should we be drinking from pewter mugs?

[JavaSailor]

I have been drinking, enjoying, selling, tasting, distributing and promoting coffee for over 20 years! So my bias is self evident. I think we have FAR more inportant things to worry about than the moderate or even heavy consummption of benign products such as chocolate, dairy products, and coffee. If you eat 12 cheeseburgers a week, then you ALREADY know why youre obese. If you drink 12 cups of joe per day then you ALREADY know why people think your're driving too fast. (hey why dont we look at excessive speed as a health risk)

[Doris]

I think some of that is crap! My boyfriend (age 51) is a long time heavy coffee drinker and he was recently diagnosed with Type II Diabetes.