Turns out your coffee addiction may be doing your brain a favor

(theregister.com)

43 points | by Bender 2 hours ago

8 comments

  • jader201 1 hour ago
    Actual study: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/28447...

    ”After adjusting for potential confounders and pooling results across cohorts, higher caffeinated coffee intake was significantly associated with lower dementia risk (141 vs 330 cases per 100 000 person-years comparing the fourth [highest] quartile of consumption with the first [lowest] quartile; hazard ratio, 0.82 [95% CI, 0.76 to 0.89]) and lower prevalence of subjective cognitive decline (7.8% vs 9.5%, respectively; prevalence ratio, 0.85 [95% CI, 0.78 to 0.93]).”

    So about 18% relative reduction. But if your risks are already low (e.g. active and healthy diet) the relative reduction is less impactful (e.g. 4% to 3.28%).

    • weird-eye-issue 43 minutes ago
      > the relative reduction is less impactful (e.g. 4% to 3.28%

      That's also an 18% reduction

      • Xunjin 18 minutes ago
        I think what he means is a reduction of 18% based on 4% is way less than 18% based on 80%.
  • rf15 1 hour ago
    Is that right? Isn't it more related to the fact that people in education/etc. actually drink more coffee for culture reasons but also use their brain more? could that be the actual reason? Because I don't see how all the coffee zombies in my workplace would last longer long term when they're already useless and aggressive today (until they had their coffee)
    • Jeff_Brown 4 minutes ago
      Yes, without a good experiment (maybe a natural one [1]) we can't know. Even if the study controls for everything observable, there may be unobserved differences that lead to the caffeination difference. For instance, even though two people might have the same job, education, etc. the one who is more ambitious, or creative, or hopeful, or simply healthy enough to feel like working more, might drink more coffee.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_experiment?wprov=sfla1

    • CuriouslyC 1 hour ago
      This was a follow-on to a study of nurses showing coffee drinkers have lower all cause mortality.

      Caffeine has been shown to exert effects via adenosine receptor antagonism and influence on cAMP & AMPK pathways. These same pathways are implicated in a lot of issues with aging. Caffeine also has some anti-inflammatory properties and Coffee beans are a strong anti-oxidant though I don't really think that matters much.

      • johnisgood 54 minutes ago
        > Caffeine has been shown to exert effects via adenosine receptor antagonism and influence on cAMP & AMPK pathways. These same pathways are implicated in a lot of issues with aging.

        That is like saying biological pathways are implicated in aging (because you said "pathways").

        In any case, adenosine receptor antagonism has a pretty weak link if any to aging.

        Additionally, we say that about virtually everything that is herbal, that it has anti-inflammatory properties. You are right, it does not matter at all.

    • sumeno 1 hour ago
      The studies compared people from the same occupation, so no, that is not likely the reason
      • rf15 28 minutes ago
        But that can still not account for cultural/work ethic differences.
    • adrithmetiqa 1 hour ago
      Exactly. Just another “study” finding a correlation without causation.
  • trollbridge 32 minutes ago
    Coffee, like other beans, is loaded to the hilt with antioxidants, particularly once it’s hyper-concentrated, and the roasting and brewing process eliminates all the mechanisms beans normally use to avoid animals wanting to eat them.
    • throawayonthe 2 minutes ago
      - coffee seeds are not actually 'beans'

      - caffeine is the main mechanism it uses to deter pests like insects, definitely not removed in the roasting and brewing process

      - like many fruits, they're sweet and nutritious, encouraging larger animals to eat it

      - the stuff marketed as dietary antioxidants still hasn't been shown to improve anything

      what are you talking about

  • cineticdaffodil 1 hour ago
    Then again if you have dementia, you are highly likely to lesve the office environment and any study, thus reversing causality.
    • codyb 28 minutes ago
      Does not apply to the White House
  • storus 39 minutes ago
    Isn't this all about brain hypoperfusion coming from some sort of dysautonomia and/or mitochondrial dysfunction and worse blood vessels as we age? We know that medication that helps blood flow and endothelium improves brain long-term, like sildenafil.
  • cebert 2 hours ago
  • steve_taylor 1 hour ago
    Only a few years ago, there was a study showing that regular caffeine use reduces blood flow to the brain by up to 30%, leading to lower brain volume and increased risk of dementia.
  • qwertyuiop_ 39 minutes ago
    Does decaf have the same effects ?
    • sumeno 27 minutes ago
      No, only caffeinated

      > decaffeinated coffee intake was not associated with lower dementia risk or better cognitive performance

    • HardwareLust 29 minutes ago
      You'd be missing out on the anti-inflammatory properties of the caffeine, so maybe it might have some effect?
      • Xunjin 17 minutes ago
        My bowels disagree, caffeine make them feel inflammatory