Can coffee consumption lower the risk of death? Here’s what a study found

Coffee lovers will give you a hundred reasons as to why they enjoy this daily beverage, regardless of the fact that there are several editorial pieces out there that suggest coffee consumption may not be ideal for health.
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Now, new evidence has emerged that may bolster a coffee drinker’s belief. It has been found that people who drink coffee — with or without sugar — may have a lower risk of an early death.
According to the British Coffee Association, 98 million cups of coffee are consumed every day in the UK. There have been many previous findings that suggest drinking coffee may not be as bad for health as we are led to believe, and can, in fact, have a positive impact on mental and physical well-being.Best of Express PremiumPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
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Now, researchers in China have found that people who drink coffee in moderation every day, sweetened with sugar or not, have a lower risk of death over a seven-year period than those who do not drink it.

Published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the study is based on data from more than 1,71,000 participants of the UK BioBank — a Guardian report states — which collected data on genetics, lifestyle and health from more than 5,00,000 people since 2006, including their coffee-drinking habits.
Per the report, the study team used this collected information from the death certificates of people to track participants for a period of seven years from 2009, during which 3,177 people died. Factor like age, sex, ethnicity, educational level, smoking status, amount of physical activity, body mass index and diet were considered and it was found that when compared with those who did not drink coffee, people who consumed unsweetened coffee had the lowest risk of death.

A 29 per cent lower risk of death was seen for those drinking the brew between 2.5 and 4.5 cups a day, and similar results were found for instant, ground and decaffeinated coffee, the Guardian report states.
Interestingly, the study only questioned participants about coffee drinking and other habits once, and “relied on self-reporting”. It, therefore, is not clear as to what the results would be for those who add a lot of sugar to their drink.

Naveed Sattar, a professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow — not involved in the work — was quoted as telling the publication, “The observational nature of this new study means these conclusions are far from definitive. This is because coffee drinkers are in general more affluent and have healthier lives than non-drinkers and I remain unconvinced whether these factors can be overcome in observational studies.”
He added that he would “suggest people stick to coffee or tea, preferably without sugar, which most people can adapt to, and try to do all the other things we know keep you healthy — move more, eat and sleep better“.
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