Drinking Coffee Linked with Healthy Ageing in Women
Findings from a new study of almost 50,000 women, followed over 30 years, suggest that a morning cup of coffee might do more than boost energy - it could also help women stay sharp, strong and mentally well as they age.
The large study found that women consuming caffeinated coffee in midlife are more likely to be healthy agers, with three small daily doses of caffeine linked to long-term health benefits.
The author of the study, Dr Sara Mahdavi of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto, said that the findings “suggest caffeinated coffee…may uniquely support ageing trajectories that preserve both mental and physical function”.
“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”.
Dr Mahdavi said that “These results, while preliminary, suggest that small, consistent habits can shape long-term health”.
Dr Mahdavi analysed dietary and health data collected from more than 47,500 women since 1984. By 2016, 3,706 of them met all the requirements for being considered "healthy agers", 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.
In middle age, from 45 to 60, those women typically consumed an average of 315mg of caffeine per day, roughly the amount in three small cups of coffee, with more than 80% of that caffeine coming from regular coffee consumption.
“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.”
After 30 years of follow-up, the investigators estimated how the likelihood of healthy ageing changed for every 80mg of caffeine that study participants consumed per day, concluding that "Moderate coffee intake may offer some protective benefits when combined with other healthy behaviors” such as regular exercise and a healthy diet.