Seniors Will Appreciate Study Finding Coffee
Drinkers Less Likely to Get Alzheimer’s in Old Age
Drinking 3-5 cups per day shows best results – lowers
Alzheimer’s risk by 65%
Jan. 28, 2009 – A survey several years ago found
that most senior citizens would give up sex before they would their
morning coffee. So, seniors, always pleased to hear good news about
their favorite drink, will appreciate a new research report indicating
people who consumed coffee at middle-age had lower risk for dementia and
Alzheimer’s disease later in life, compared to those who drank little or
no java.
This conclusion is made in a Finnish Cardiovascular
Risk Factors, Aging and Dementia (CAIDE) Study published in the January
2009 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
"We aimed to study the association between coffee
and tea consumption at midlife and dementia/AD risk in late-life,
because the long-term impact of caffeine on the central nervous system
was still unknown, and as the pathologic processes leading to
Alzheimer's disease may start decades before the clinical manifestation
of the disease," says lead researcher, associate professor Miia
Kivipelto, from the University of Kuopio, Finland and Karolinska
Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
The study was conducted at the University of Kuopio
in collaboration with Karolinska Institutet and the National Public
Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland.
Participants included the survivors of
population-based groups previously surveyed in the North Karelia Project
and the FINMONICA study in 1972, 1977, 1982 or 1987 (midlife visit).
After an average follow-up of 21 years, 1409
individuals, (71%) aged 65 to 79, completed the re-examination in 1998.
A total of 61 cases were identified as demented and 48 of these with AD.
At the midlife examination, the consumption of
coffee and tea was assessed with a previously validated
semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire.
Coffee drinking was categorized into three groups:
● 0-2 cups (low),
● 3-5 cups (moderate) and
● >5 cups (high) per day.
Further, the question concerning tea consumption
was divided into those not drinking tea and those drinking at least a
cup of tea per day.
The study found that coffee drinkers at midlife had
lower risk for dementia and AD later in life compared to those drinking
no or only little coffee.
The lowest risk (65% decreased) was found among
moderate coffee drinkers (drinking 3-5 cups of coffee/day). Adjustments
for various confounders did not change the results.
Tea drinking was relatively uncommon and was not
associated with dementia or AD.
"Given the large amount of coffee consumption
globally, the results might have important implications for the
prevention of or delaying the onset of dementia/AD,” says Kivipelto.
“The finding needs to be confirmed by other
studies, but it opens the possibility that dietary interventions could
modify the risk of dementia/AD. Also, identification of mechanisms of
how coffee exerts its protection against dementia/AD might help in the
development of new therapies for these diseases."
Background Information
Karolinska Institutet is one of the leading medical
universities in Europe. Through research, education and information,
Karolinska Institutet contributes to improving human health. Each year,
the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet awards the Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine. For more information, visit
ki.se
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
Drinking 3-5 cups per day shows best results – lowers
Alzheimer’s risk by 65%