Older Women Lower Stroke Risk by Drinking Coffee
Frequently and Not Smoking
It only works for healthy women but two cups a day
does the trick; unfortunately, many heavy coffee drinkers tend to smoke
Feb. 17, 2009 – Good news for millions of senior
women - long-term coffee consumption is associated with lower stroke
risk in older women who don’t smoke, according to a 24-year follow-up
study reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart
Association.
Researchers also say regular coffee drinking may be
associated with a modest reduction in stroke risk in nonsmoking women.
The research, which used Nurses’ Health Study data, found that compared
with women who drank less than one cup of coffee a month, the risk of
all types of stroke was: • 20 percent less in women drinking four or more cups/day.
• 19 percent less in women drinking two to three cups/day.
• 12 percent less in women drinking coffee five to seven times a week.
Previous analyses - including a 2006 report from
the Nurses’ Health Study - raise the possibility that coffee may help
protect against diabetes and does not appear to raise the risk of heart
attack, researchers said. However, the few studies on stroke had
contradictory findings, said Esther Lopez-Garcia, Ph.D., lead author of
the study and assistant professor of preventive medicine at the
Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain.
Researchers from Spain and Harvard Medical School
in Boston analyzed the impact of coffee consumption on stroke risk over
24 years. The subjects were 83,076 women who began the study in 1980
with no history of stroke, heart disease, diabetes or cancer.
Every two to four years, the women completed food
frequency questionnaires about their diet, including their consumption
of coffee, tea, decaffeinated coffee and caffeinated soft drinks.
Researchers used a woman’s average coffee consumption from all available
reports (prior to a stroke or death) for the analysis.
Between 1980 and 2004, 2,280 strokes were
documented: 1,224 ischemic (caused by blockage
of a blood vessel feeding brain tissue); 426 hemorrhagic (caused when a
blood vessel feeding brain tissue bursts); and 630 of undetermined type.
To assess the role of coffee consumption, the
researchers adjusted for several factors known to influence stroke risk,
including age, smoking status, body mass index, physical activity,
alcohol intake, menopausal status, use of hormone replacement therapy,
use of aspirin and diet. This type of analysis can only account for
known factors but cannot consider risk predictors as yet unidentified.
Among other findings, coffee was not associated
with either raised or lowered stroke risk in the subgroups of women with
high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol.
Researchers said women who drink a lot of coffee
also tend to smoke. The difference between smokers and nonsmokers was
noted: • Among women who had never smoked or quit the habit, drinking four
cups or more of coffee a day was associated with a 43 percent reduction
in stroke risk.
• Among smokers, drinking four cups or more was associated with only a
3 percent reduction in risk.
“The potential benefits of coffee cannot
counterbalance the detrimental effects smoking has on health,”
Lopez-Garcia said.
Other caffeinated beverages, such as tea and
caffeinated soft drinks, as well decaffeinated coffee, were not
associated with any change in stroke risk.
“This finding supports the hypothesis that
components in coffee other than caffeine may be responsible for the
potential beneficial effect of coffee on stroke risk,” she said.
“Antioxidants in coffee lower inflammation and improve blood vessel
function.”
While possibly good news for current coffee
drinkers, the authors said their findings don’t provide enough evidence
to recommend that women start drinking coffee for its health benefits.
“I would also add that the beneficial effects of
coffee can only be applied to healthy people,” Lopez-Garcia said.
“Anyone with health problems that can be worsened by coffee (insomnia,
anxiety, hypertension or heart problems) should talk to their doctor
about their specific risk.”
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the
United States after diseases of the heart and cancer.
Co-authors are: Fernando Rodriguez-Artalejo, M.D.,
Ph.D.; Kathryn M. Rexrode, M.D., M.P.H.; Giancarlo Logroscino, M.D.,
Ph.D.; Frank B. Hu, M.D., Ph.D.; and Rob M. van Dam, Ph.D. Individual
author disclosures can be found on the manuscript.
The National Institutes of Health funded the
research. Hu’s research is partly supported by an American Heart
Association Established Investigator Award.
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
Feb. 17, 2009 – Good news for millions of senior
women - long-term coffee consumption is associated with lower stroke
risk in older women who don’t smoke, according to a 24-year follow-up
study reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart
Association.