According to a new study, drinking two or more cups of coffee a day could be linked to slower cognitive decline and reduced risk of developing mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s dementia.
Coffee contains a number of bioactive compounds, the most well-known of which is the stimulant caffeine. It is one of the most popular hot drinks for adults across the world, and when consumed in moderation, can have beneficial effects on conditions such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and cancer.
Studying data from the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) cohort, a longitudinal study of 227 cognitively normal adults aged over 60, a team of researchers led by Prof. Ralph Martins at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia looked at whether coffee consumption was linked to cognitive decline and measures of Alzheimer’s disease detected on brain scans.
Higher self-reported coffee consumption was associated with slower cognitive decline in executive function and attention, as well as a lower likelihood of converting from cognitively normal to mild cognitive impairment or dementia over a period of 126 months. Analyses of brain scans from a subset of participants revealed an association between higher coffee consumption and slower accumulation of amyloid plaques over the 126-month time period, but no differences in terms of other measures such as white matter hyperintensities or hippocampal volume.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2021.744872/full
