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Drinking mild to moderate amounts of ground, instant or decaffeinated coffee may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and death, according to new research.
The authors of the study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, say the results indicate that coffee-drinking should be considered part of a healthy lifestyle.
Coffee drinkers compared to non-drinkers for the incidence of arrhythmias, cardiovascular disease and death
The study included patient data from more than 449,000 participants, accessed via the UK BioBank. None of the participants had cardiovascular disease (arrhythmias, coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, or ischaemic stroke) at baseline.
The median age was 58 years and just over half (55.3%) were women. All participants were asked to complete a questionnaire asking how many cups of coffee they drank each day and whether they usually drank instant, ground (such as cappuccino or filtered coffee), or decaffeinated coffee.
They were then grouped into six intake categories: none, less than one, one, two to three, four to five, and more than five cups per day. The usual coffee type was instant in 198,062 (44.1%) participants, ground in 82,575 (18.4%), and decaffeinated in 68,416 (15.2%). There were 100,510 (22.4%) non-coffee drinkers who served as the comparator group.
Participants were followed up 12.5 years later (median). During this period, 27,809 (6.2%) patients died, 43,173 (9.6%) were diagnosed with cardiovascular disease and 30,100 (6.7%) with an arrhythmia. After adjusting for confounding factors, coffee drinkers were compared to non-drinkers for the incidence of arrhythmias, cardiovascular disease and death.
All types of coffee associated with a reduction in cardiovascular disease and death from any cause
All types of coffee were linked with a reduction in death from any cause. The greatest risk reduction seen with two to three cups per day, which compared to no coffee drinking was associated with a 14%, 27% and 11% lower likelihood of death for decaffeinated, ground, and instant preparations, respectively.
All coffee subtypes were also associated with a reduction in incident cardiovascular disease. Again, the lowest risk was observed with two to three cups a day, which compared to abstinence from coffee was associated with a 6%, 20%, and 9% reduced likelihood of cardiovascular disease for decaffeinated, ground, instant coffee, respectively.
While ground and instant coffee were associated with a reduction in in arrhythmias (including atrial fibrillation), no significant changes were observed for decaffeinated coffee drinkers. The lowest risks were observed with four to five cups a day for ground coffee and two to three cups a day for instant coffee, with 17% and 12% reduced risks, respectively.
Study author Professor Peter Kistler of the Baker Heart and Diabetes Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia said: “Caffeine is the most well-known constituent in coffee, but the beverage contains more than 100 biologically active components. It is likely that the non-caffeinated compounds were responsible for the positive relationships observed between coffee drinking, cardiovascular disease and survival.”
“Our findings indicate that drinking modest amounts of coffee of all types should not be discouraged but can be enjoyed as a heart healthy behaviour,” she concluded.