Drink up to three cups of coffee a day is associated with a lower risk of stroke and fatal heart disease, according to a study just presented at the European Technology Society Congress 2021. This study examined the association between habitual coffee consumption and incidents of heart attack, stroke, and death. The study included more than 468,000 participants with no signs of heart disease at the time of enrollment. The average age was 56.2 years and 55.8% were women.
A better functioning heart
The participants were divided into three groups according to their usual coffee consumption: no regular coffee consumption (22.1%), consumption of 0.5 to 3 cups/day (58.4%) and more than 3 cups per day (19.5%). All were followed for an average of eleven years and MRIs were used to assess the structure and functions of the heart.The results indicate that, compared to non-coffee drinkers, light to moderate drinking is associated with a 17% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 21% lower risk of stroke.
“The imaging analysis indicated that compared to participants who did not drink coffee regularly, daily drinkers had better-sized and better-functioning hearts. This was consistent with reversing the adverse effects of aging on the heart. “emphasized Dr. Dr Judit Simon, from the Cardiac and Vascular Center of the University of Budapest (Hungary), lead author of the study.
30% less risk of stroke
In a meta-analysis of more than 200 studies, researchers from the University of Southampton, in Great Britain, had already looked at the impact of coffee consumption on cardiovascular health. This meta-analysis, published in the british medical journal in 2017, noted that drinking 3-4 cups of coffee reduced stroke risk by 30%, coronary heart disease by 16% and death from cardiovascular disease by 16%, compared to not drinking coffee. The UK researchers’ meta-analysis shows that drinking coffee daily is more often associated with health benefits than harms. “There is a balance in life and the benefits of moderate coffee consumption seem to outweigh the risks” said Professor Paul Roderick, co-author of the study.
Sources:
- Light-to-moderate coffee drinking associated with health benefitsESC 2021, August 2021
- Scientists wake up to coffee’s benefits, British medical journal, November 2017
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