While the majority of people consume coffee in the morning, there’s no secret that drinking too much of it can become harmful. But according to a new study that was conducted at UniSA’s Australian Centre for Precision Health from SAHMRI, those who consume a minimum of six cups of joe per day are at higher risk of dementia: 53%, to be more precise.
The new study was published in Nutritional Neuroscience, and it involved a survey of more than 17,000 UK BBiobank participants that have ages between 37 and 73 years old.
An extremely extensive investigation
Kitty Pham, who is the lead researcher and also a UniSA PhD candidate, explains as quoted by SciTechDaily why he has a lot of faith in the new study:
This is the most extensive investigation into the connections between coffee, brain volume measurements, the risks of dementia, and the risks of stroke — it’s also the largest study to consider volumetric brain imaging data and a wide range of confounding factors.
Accounting for all possible permutations, we consistently found that higher coffee consumption was significantly associated with reduced brain volume — essentially, drinking more than six cups of coffee a day may be putting you at risk of brain diseases such as dementia and stroke.
Pham confirms that coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world. While global consumption exceeds nine billion kilograms per year, the scientist believes that it’s critical to understand any potential implications for the health.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that about 50 million people around the world are suffering from dementia, with roughly 10 million new cases emerging every year. We’re talking about a syndrome in which deterioration of memory, behaviour, thinking and the ability to perform daily activities are affected. While dementia affects the elders, it’s not considered a normal part of ageing.