More Research about coffee and dementia

Posted on: 2016-09-30 12:35 PM

A cup of coffee a day may not entirely keep the doctor away, but new research indicates women who drink caffeine may reduce the odds of developing dementia.
 
"I hope that it's true because we have a real problem in my family with dementia, so if this is true hopefully I'm ahead of the curve," tea drinker Sister Patricia Rogers said.
 
The study was done at UW-Milwaukee, where researchers said they can make a direct link between higher consumption of caffeine and lower incidents of dementia.
 
Background
 
Caffeine is the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world, most often ingested as a natural component of coffee and tea. Caffeine has well-documented stimulatory effects on mental and physical alertness and muscle coordination.
 
Is it the caffeine or is it the coffee? While most people assume that caffeine is the most beneficial component of coffee, animal and human research suggest this may or may not be the case. It is difficult to distinguish the effects of caffeine from other components in coffee, some of which may protect. Recent animal studies reveal similar benefits between caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee. Indeed, observations in humans suggest that drinking either caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee may decrease the risk of death from heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
 
Study Summary
 
Among a group of older women, who drank two to three eight-ounce cups of coffee a day, or five to eight cups of black tea or seven to eight 12-ounce cans of cola, reported a 36 percent reduction in the risk of dementia over 10 years.
 
"I'm excited about it because anything that helps stave off dementia would be an awesome thing," coffee drinker Sister Stella Storch said.
 
But Sathena Gillespie said her grandmother has been drinking coffee forever, and she's suffering right now.
 
"She is, she has dementia, and she's actually transitioning into Alzheimer's," Gillespie said.
 
Still, Gillespie plans to continue serving and drinking coffee.
 
Other Research
 
In some studies, people who habitually drink moderate amounts of coffee or caffeine have a lower risk of cognitive decline or dementia but the pattern is not consistent. Some studies have found no protective association; others have found that the benefit is limited to specific groups of people or specific doses. A meta-analysis in 2015 concluded that, if all the observational evidence is combined, caffeine intake from coffee or tea does not have a statistically reliable protective association, despite a trend of an 18% reduced risk of cognitive disorders like dementia, Alzheimer’s, cognitive impairment, or cognitive decline.
 
Even if long-term coffee intake does protect the brain, a different yet under-studied question is whether high-risk older people might reduce their risk if they start drinking coffee in late life. One Italian study reported that people who recently increased their coffee intake had a higher risk of mild cognitive impairment, which is sometimes (but not always) a precursor to dementia. On the other hand, a different study reported that people with mild cognitive impairment were much less likely to convert to dementia if they had higher caffeine levels in their blood. More research is clearly needed. It may be very difficult to disentangle coffee or caffeine intake from the characteristics shared by people who consume it, like occupation, general health, or personal genetics.
 
Bottom line
 
If you enjoy coffee, it is unlikely to increase your risk of dementia and might even protect your aging brain, particularly if you consume moderate levels, roughly 1-2 cups per day rather than higher doses. If you don’t enjoy coffee, the evidence is too inconsistent to suggest that you start the habit.