When a new study comes out about coffee, especially as it relates to brain health, the findings are normally positive. (Except for that whole coffee shrinking your brain thing. That’s less good.) So when new research comes out, one can rightfully expect to be happy with what it has to say. But it’s not all sunshine in coffee science land. A new study finds a link between drinking more tha three cups of coffee a day and greater levels of cognitive decline in old age.
As reported by Daily Mail, the latest findings come from researchers at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, who presented their findings at the 2024 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia. For the study, researchers examined nearly 8,500 cognitively unimpaired individuals ages 60 and older from the UK BioBank. These participants would self-report coffee and tea consumption and underwent at least two follow-up visits—occurring over an average of nine years—where they would take cognitive assessments, including: “Pairs Matching test (errors), Reaction Time test, Numeric Memory test, and Fluid Intelligence.”
They found that those who reporting drinking four or more cups of coffee daily experienced “an increased rate of cognitive decline.” When compared to the group that didn’t consume coffee, the four-plus cup group were the only to have higher levels of cognitive decline. One possible explanation offered per Daily Mail, states that “a loss of sleep triggered by consuming excessive amount of caffeine” is ultimately what is causing the damage as opposed to the coffee itself.
There may also be a cultural component. The study participants are all from the UK, a historical tea drinking region, and aged 7o or older by the study’s end, meaning coffee hadn’t yet entered the mainstream in their formative years. It could be the case that the sort of person bucking the cultural trend, choosing to drink coffee over tea, may also partake in other risky behavior that could be the culprit. It would at least explain why this study’s findings don’t entire correspond with other such studies from other parts of the world.
Even still, it’s not all bad news. Drinking 1-3 cups of coffee a day was found to be associated with lower instances of cognitive decline in the same study. And at that very same Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, a separate study was presented finding higher levels of coffee consumption were associated with a decreased risk of dementia.
Thus concludes our contractually obligated coverage of unfavorable coffee science. Now let’s never speak of this again.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
