A nice cup of caffeinated coffee or black tea everyday (or maybe multiple a day) may be an unsuspecting key to keeping your risk of developing dementia low.
A new study published in the medical journal JAMA followed 131,821 participants over a 43-year period between 1980 and 2023 across two different studies, with researchers tracking their cognitive abilities and dementia development through follow-ups, physician diagnoses and death records. Throughout the study, they also tracked which participants drank large amounts of caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee or tea for longer amounts of time.
These results do not take into account participants or individuals with cancer, Parkinson disease or those who already have dementia at the start of the study. The data, as reported in the study, was also taken from “female participants from the Nurses’ Health Study and male participants from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.”
Out of all the participants, 11,033 were found to have developed dementia to some degree. It was also found that those who drank more caffeinated coffee had their risks of developing dementia lowered by 18%, CBS reported, and their prevalence of cognitive decline was also lowered compared to those who drank lower caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee and tea.
Individuals should take these results with a grain of salt, as this study does not definitively prove that higher consumption of caffeine over long periods of time is a concrete method of combating dementia and additional cognitive decline as you age.
Other steps should be taken and made a priority over this; for example, running and other aerobic exercises have been proven effective in reducing one’s risks of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s. Diet is also an important factor to consider when it comes to battling cognitive decline.
Older Black Americans ages 70 and up, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, are twice as likely as their white counterparts to develop Alzheimer’s and dementia, making it all the more important for individuals to take the appropriate steps earlier in life to lower their risks.
Even though drinking more caffeinated coffee may not directly impact whether or not you lower your risks of dementia and general cognitive decline, coffee does have its benefits on one’s health in different areas.
According to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, drinking the right amount of coffee can help lower your risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, which directly impacts one’s brain and ability to control their motor functions.
Coffee can also help fight against heart disease, as well as make it less likely for you to develop colon cancer, type 2 diabetes and suffer from a stroke. Caffeine can also help open up one’s airways and improve one’s lung functions for up to 2 hours, according to a study published in the National Library of Medicine.
For coffee drinkers everywhere, perhaps a big cup or two of caffeinated coffee every day may help you stay healthy, both physically and mentally, as more research is conducted on its benefits for our long-term cognitive health and functioning.