Individuals
who drink three to five cups of coffee in middle age have lower risks
for dementia and Alzheimer's later in life than those who drink more,
or steer clear of the brew altogether.
That's
a conclusion made in a study appearing in the January issue of the
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
"Given
the large amount of coffee consumption globally, the results might
have important implications for the prevention of or delaying the
onset of dementia/AD,” said lead researcher Miia Kivipelto an
associate professor at the University of Kuopio in Finland and
Karolinska Institute in Sweden. “The finding needs to be confirmed
by other studies, but it opens the possibility that dietary
interventions could modify the risk of dementia/AD. Also,
identification of mechanisms of how coffee exerts its protection
against dementia/AD might help in the development of new therapies
for these diseases."
Tea
drinking among the 1,400 study subjects was not common, or associated
with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia, according to an adjunct
finding of the Finnish Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging and
Dementia Study.