Not to be an alarmist, but we’re all hurtling toward our inevitable demises. Not in the “world is on fire” sense, though it is, but more just meant as a general statement about humans not being immortal. The end comes for us all, and generally speaking, the last few years are the frailest. But a new study finds that drinking coffee may help keep you more robust in old age.
Appearing recently in the journal European Journal of Nutrition, the new study examines the effects of “current habitual and midlife coffee consumption” on frailty as individuals progress into old age. To do this, they assessed 1,161 “community-dwelling older adults” aged 55 and over that took part in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam.
Participants were asked about their coffee consumption habits—number of days per week they consumed coffee, number of cups a day, decaf or caffeinated, etc—and had follow ups after three and seven years. They were grouped based on daily consumption: 0 cups, >0–2, >2–4, >4–6, and >6 cups. Using the >0–2 group as the control, the >2–4 group was 73% less likely to experience pre-frailty, which they define as meeting one or two of five Fried frailty criteria: unintentional weight loss, exhaustion, low physical activity, slow walking speed, and weakness. The >4–6 and >6 were 36% and 37% less likely to experience pre-frailty, respectively.
When looking at specific criteria, the >2–4 group was association with a 60% decrease in unintended weight loss, and the >2–4, >4–6, and >6 groups were associated with a 69%, 60%, and 55% decrease in the odds of developing weakness, respectively, which was assessed by measuring grip strength.
These results align this with those of a similar study from 2023 by the National University of Singapore, finding that regular coffee consumption is associated with decreased frailty in older age.
While the exact mechanisms behind the findings require further examination, researchers suggest that the antioxidants in coffee, “including caffeine, polyphenols, and other bioactive compounds” may be working to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, both of which are associated with frailty. Another potential explanation may be that coffee has been linked with reduced chances of sarcopenia, an age-related condition that results in decreased muscle mass.
Whatever the exact mechanism(s) at play, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: coffee can help keep you zippy in your golden years. So drink up now. Your wrinklier self will thank you for it later.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
