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From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
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Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nA daily cup of tea or coffee could offer more than just a comforting start to the day, with new research suggesting a link between regular consumption and a reduced risk of dementia. <\/p>\n
A large new study found that those who regularly consumed caffeinated versions of these popular hot drinks also exhibit better mental skills compared to individuals who abstain.<\/p>\n
The comprehensive research, conducted by experts at Harvard University, analysed data from 131,000 health workers in the US. <\/p>\n
These participants, comprising 86,000 female nurses and 45 male health professionals, were tracked for an average of 43 years. <\/p>\n
Researchers were also able to identify specific daily consumption levels associated with this decreased dementia risk.<\/p>\n
Questionnaires about their diet were completed every two to four years, including questions about caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee and tea consumption.<\/p>\n
Cognitive tests were also performed.<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Researchers were also able to identify specific daily consumption levels associated with this decreased dementia risk (Alamy\/PA)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nDuring the follow-up period, 11,033 cases of dementia were identified.<\/p>\n
Analysis suggested that higher caffeinated coffee intake was significantly associated with lower dementia risk \u2013 those who drunk the highest amount of coffee compared to the lowest appeared to have an 18% reduced risk of dementia.<\/p>\n
People who drank the most tea appeared to have a 16% reduced risk.<\/p>\n
Those who consumed the most tea and coffee also showed a slower rate of cognitive decline compared to those who drank the least.<\/p>\n
Among the nurses, higher caffeinated coffee consumption was also associated with better objective cognitive performance.<\/p>\n
Higher intake of tea showed similar associations, researchers found.<\/p>\n
But drinking decaffeinated coffee was not associated with lower dementia risk or better cognitive performance.<\/p>\n
Overall, the authors found that the most \u201cpronounced association\u201d was among people who drank a \u201cmoderate\u201d amount of tea or coffee, with \u201cno additional advantages\u201d among people who consumed more.<\/p>\n
They estimated that consumption of around two to three cups of caffeinated coffee each day, or one to two cups of tea per day, were linked with the lowest risk of dementia compared to people who did not drink these drinks.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreater consumption of caffeinated coffee and tea was associated with lower risk of dementia and modestly better cognitive function, with the most pronounced association at moderate intake levels,\u201d they wrote in Jama.<\/p>\n
Lead author, Yu Zhang from the TH Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University, told the Press Association: \u201cDementia is one of the most important and challenging public health problems worldwide, and there are still very limited effective treatments.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo identifying modifiable lifestyle factors that may be linked to dementia risk is critical.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoffee and tea are widely consumed globally, so even modest associations could have meaningful population-level implications.<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n
open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Among the nurses, higher caffeinated coffee consumption was also associated with better objective cognitive performance (Getty\/iStock)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\u201cWe analysed data from more than 130,000 women and men followed for up to 43 years, with repeated dietary assessments over time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found that higher intake of caffeinated coffee and tea was associated with a lower risk of dementia and better cognitive performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe observed the most favourable associations were at moderate intake levels \u2013 the strongest associations were seen at about two to three cups per day of caffeinated coffee and about one to two cups per day of tea.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t observe additional benefits at higher intake levels.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commenting on the study, Dr Susan Kohlhaas, executive director of research at Alzheimer\u2019s Research UK, said: \u201cThis research doesn\u2019t prove that coffee or tea protect the brain.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis study shows an association, not a cause-and-effect relationship.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who drink coffee or tea may also differ in other ways that affect brain health, even after careful adjustment, and the study relied partly on self-reported diagnoses.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was also conducted in relatively similar groups of health professionals, which limits how widely the results can be applied.\u201d<\/p>\n
Professor Tara Spires-Jones, division lead at the UK Dementia Research Institute, said: \u201cThis is a well-conducted study that looked at data from a large number of people over many years.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, the study does have important limitations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis kind of observational research cannot prove conclusively that caffeine intake was the reason for lower dementia risk, other factors related to coffee and tea-drinking habits could be responsible.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, sleep disruption and several cardiovascular health factors are associated with increased risk of dementia and these can affect people\u2019s choices around caffeine intake.<\/p>\n
\u201cFurther, the data on caffeine intake were from self-reported questionnaires administered every two to four years, and if people were in early stages of dementia, they might have difficulty accurately reporting their intake or the early brain changes could affect behaviour including caffeine intake.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more A daily cup of tea or coffee could offer more than just a comforting start to the day, with new research suggesting a link between regular consumption and a reduced risk of dementia. A large new study found that those who regularly consumed caffeinated versions of these popular hot drinks also exhibit better mental skills compared to individuals who abstain. The comprehensive research, conducted by experts at Harvard University, analysed data from 131,000 health workers in the US. These participants, comprising 86,000 female nurses and 45 male health professionals, were tracked for an average of 43 years. Researchers were also able to identify specific daily consumption levels associated with this decreased dementia risk. Questionnaires about their diet were completed every two to four years, including questions about caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee and tea consumption. Cognitive tests were also performed. open image in gallery Researchers were also able to identify specific daily consumption levels associat…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11779"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}