Coffee Mortality Study Indicates 4 Cups a Day Could Significantly Increase Risk of Death
A coffee mortality risk is being highlighted by U.S. researchers, who are claiming that their studies show people aged 55 and younger who drink four or more cups of coffee a day had a 50 percent increased mortality risk from all causes.
The co-author of the new study, Dr. Carl J. Lavie of the Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans said the latest National Coffee Drinking Study found 60 percent of U.S. adults drink coffee every day. On average coffee drinkers consume just over three cups a day.
The study sought to see if there were any relations between coffee consumption and death from all causes, and death from cardiovascular disease.
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The study looked at past data from 1979 and 1998, over which period the researchers examined a total of 43,727 participants, consisting of 33,900 men and 9,827 women. During the 17-year median follow-up period there were 2,512 deaths, consisting of 87 percent men, 12 percent women, and with 32 percent of those caused by cardiovascular disease.
Senior investigator Steven H. Blair of the University of South Carolina, "Significantly, the results did not demonstrate any association between coffee consumption and all-cause mortality among older men and women. It is also important to note that none of the doses of coffee in either men or women whether younger or older had any significant effects on cardiovascular mortality."
The researchers claimed that younger males even had a higher mortality rate at lower consumption levels that four cups a day. They believe that the rate became significant at about 28 cups per week, at which they identified that there was a 56 percent increase in mortality from all causes.
For younger females who consumed more than 28 cups of coffee per week, it was found that they had a greater than two-fold risk of all cause mortality than those who did not drink coffee at all.
The researchers claimed that their study indicated that younger people should avoid heavy coffee consumption, and especially ensure they drink less than 28 cups a week, or four per day.
There was a caveat to the study, with the researchers indicating that further studies were needed in different populations to confirm their findings and gain a more detailed knowledge of coffee consumption affects on mortality rates.
