Research: Is There a Link Between Coffee Drinking and Mortality?

A large study of nearly half a million older adults followed for about 12 years revealed a clear trend: as coffee drinking increased, the risk of death decreased.

20 Feb 2013 --- Study author Neal Freedman, PhD, MPH, National Cancer Institute, discusses the significance of these findings and the potential links between coffee drinking, caffeine consumption, and various specific causes of disease in an interview in Journal of Caffeine Research, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Caffeine Research website.

"Epidemiology of Caffeine Consumption and Association of Coffee Drinking with Total and Cause-specific Mortality" presents an in-depth interview exploring the many factors that could contribute to the association between coffee, disease, and mortality.

Dr. Freedman examines the relationship between coffee drinking and behaviors such as smoking and alcohol abuse, the physiological effects of caffeine on blood pressure and cardiac function, and the importance of differentiating between the effects of coffee and caffeine.

“Given the near-universal daily consumption of caffeine, Dr. Freedman‘s research underscores the urgent need for randomized controlled trials to identify which components of coffee and other caffeine beverages benefit or harm consumers, under what circumstances, and in relation to which health outcomes,” says Jack E. James, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Caffeine Research.

Full bibliographic information: Epidemiology of Caffeine Consumption and Association of Coffee Drinking with Total and Cause-specific Mortality:An Interview with Neal D. Freedman, PhD, MPH Journal of Caffeine Research. doi:10.1089/jcr.2013.1224. Online Ahead of Print: February 1, 2013.