Researchers link higher daily coffee intake to healthy aging in women

Women consuming up to five caffeinated coffees daily in midlife are more likely to be healthy agers, according to a new preliminary study that followed 47,513 women for 30 years. Meanwhile, women who drank tea or decaf coffee didn’t show the same benefits. Consuming more cola drinks was strongly linked to a lesser likelihood of healthy aging.

The researchers note that a morning cup of coffee helps women to stay sharp, strong, and mentally well as they age. 

“While past studies have linked coffee to individual health outcomes, our study is the first to assess coffee’s impact across multiple domains of aging over three decades,” says co-author Sara Mahdavi, Ph.D., a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University (US), and an adjunct professor at University of Toronto (Canada). 

“The findings suggest that caffeinated coffee — not tea or decaf — may uniquely support aging trajectories that preserve mental and physical function.”

The study, which Mahdavi presented at the ongoing Nutrition 2025 annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition (May 31–June 3), defined healthy aging as living to age 70 or older free from 11 major chronic diseases while maintaining physical function and good mental health, exhibiting no cognitive impairment or memory complaints. 

“Our study has several key strengths,” adds Mahdavi. “In addition to the large sample size and 30 years of follow-up, we assessed several different aspects of longevity and healthy aging as well as very comprehensive information on nutritional and lifestyle habits that were collected every four years after the initiation of the study.”

Healthy aging benefits

The researchers used input from the Nurses’ Health Study, which collected dietary and health data since 1984. They assessed caffeine intake with validated food frequency questionnaires, including caffeine consumption in coffee, tea, cola, and decaffeinated coffee. 

The team assessed changes in the likelihood of healthy aging for every 80 mg of caffeine consumed and examined specific drinks. They note that preliminary analyses also accounted for other influencing factors, such as body weight, smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, education level, and protein intake. 

For the healthy aging group, each extra cup of coffee per day was linked to a 2–5% higher chance of doing well later in life.By 2016, 3,706 women in the study were considered “healthy agers.” Typically, these women consumed an average of 315 mg of caffeine daily around ages 45–60, around three small cups of coffee or one and a half large cups. Regular coffee consumption accounted for over 80% of that caffeine intake. 

For these women, each extra cup of coffee per day was linked to a 2–5% higher chance of doing well later in life — up to five small or 2.5 larger cups, according to today’s measures. The researchers note these women had a lower prevalence of major chronic diseases, physical limitations, mental health or cognitive impairments, or memory complaints. 

“These results, while preliminary, suggest that small, consistent habits can shape long-term health,” says Mahdavi. “Moderate coffee intake may offer some protective benefits when combined with other healthy behaviors such as regular exercise, a healthy diet, and avoiding smoking.” 

“While this study adds to prior evidence suggesting coffee intake may be linked with healthy aging, the benefits from coffee are relatively modest compared to the impact of overall healthy lifestyle habits and warrant further investigation.”

Earlier this year, a Swiss study suggested that drinking over five cups of coffee per day may improve cognitive performance and reduce inflammation in heart patients. The authors suggest that coffee may offset these people’s cognitive decline risk. 

Daily caffeine intake

At the same time, the researchers did not find a significant association between drinking decaffeinated coffee or tea and an increased likelihood of healthy aging. Moreover, each additional small glass of soda was linked to a 20–26% lower probability of healthy aging. The researchers note this reinforces the idea that not all sources of caffeine confer benefits. 

Each additional small glass of soda was linked to a 20–26% lower probability of healthy aging.They suggest that up to two cups of coffee daily should be “safe and potentially beneficial for most people.” Consuming more coffee may provide additional benefits for some, but not for all. 

In an earlier study, Mahdavi and her colleagues indicated that genetic variation can influence the relationship between caffeine intake and health outcomes. 

Researchers also plan to investigate how specific bioactive compounds in coffee interact with genetic and metabolic aging markers, especially in women. This could guide personalized medicine approaches to developing longevity and cognitive health diets. 

Last year, researchers found a positive link between coffee consumption and gut bacteria that boost the metabolization of quinic acid and trigonelline, which are linked to various health benefits. 

Meanwhile, another study suggested that drinking a morning coffee lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality compared to drinking the beverage all day.