Coffee consumption positively correlated with all-cause mortality
Given the popularity of coffee consumption worldwide it is of no surprise that a recent study linking coffee consumption with all-cause mortality has been the subject of much comment, particularly since no such association was observed with cardiovascular mortality.
In their study, the researchers evaluated observational data from 43,727 individuals aged 20-87 years who were enrolled in the prospective Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study. All completed a medical history questionnaire assessing their lifestyle habits and personal and family history and underwent a baseline medical examination between February 3, 1971 and December 30, 2002. Individuals with cardiovascular disease or cancer and those who were underweight or had abnormal electrocardiographic findings were excluded, which left 43,727 individuals (33,900 men and 9,827 women with 699,632 person-years of follow-up) who met the inclusion criteria and were observed for mortality from the baseline examination to their date of death or December 31, 2003.
A total of 2,512 deaths occurred during the median 17-year follow-up period. Multivariate analyses revealed an association between the consumption of >28 cups coffee/week and all-cause mortality in men only (hazard ratio [HR] 1.21; 95% CI 1.04-1.40). However, stratification by age indicated that coffee intake >28 cups/week was associated with all-cause mortality in both men and women younger than 55 years (men: HR 1.56, 95% CI 1.30–1.87; women: HR 2.13; 95% CI 1.26-3.59). Adjustments were made for age, baseline examination year, decaffeinated coffee use, regular tea use, decaffeinated or herbal tea use, physical inactivity, body mass index, smoking, alcohol consumption, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, family history of cardiovascular disease, and physical fitness.
The researchers stressed that further studies are needed to confirm their findings, but they caution that younger individuals may be better off avoiding excessive coffee consumption (average >4 cups/day).
Liu J et al. Association of coffee consumption with all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality. Mayo Clin Proc. 2013; 88 (10): 1066-1074.