THE HEALTH | MARCH-APRIL , 2023
| Column |
BRAIN BITES
BY DR WAEL MY MOHAMED
COFFEE is one of the most popular drinks on the planet . Many of us love a cup in the morning to prepare us for the day or a cup later in the day to avoid that mid-afternoon slump . Nevertheless , you may have heard about recent research that found that consuming more than six cups of coffee per day might diminish brain volume and raise the risk of dementia .
Should you be concerned if you ’ re continuously looking for your next coffee fix ? This amount of coffee intake was linked to a decreased overall brain capacity and a 53 per cent greater risk of dementia , according to researchers from Australia and the United Kingdom . Nevertheless , they did not find that excessive caffeine use causes dementia , and they stressed that this research could not determine the underlying explanation of the connection . The study , published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience , looked at whether frequent coffee drinking was linked to changes in brain volume and the risk of acquiring dementia or stroke .
The researchers examined 398,646 people aged 37 to 73 from the UK Biobank research database . To assess illness outcomes , the researchers examined the number of persons who got dementia or had a stroke over time and compared it to coffee use .
The researchers matched brain imaging to the quantity of coffee people consumed daily to determine the relationship between coffee intake and brain volume . This element of the research examined 17,702 persons out of 398,646 .
Since the study was observational , no adjustments were made to the
Coffee is a hug in a mug
Can drinking six cups of coffee daily shrink your brain and increase dementia risk ?
individuals ’ diets or lives . Instead , they examined the individual ’ s coffee consumption and found a link between the daily coffee quantity and the risk of acquiring dementia or suffering a stroke .
HOW SHOULD WE INTERPRET THESE RESULTS ?
The ramifications of reduced brain volume are unknown , and this research does not address this issue . Yet , brain shrinkage occurs gradually as we age , and studies reveal a link between brain volume and dementia .
But does the size of the brain matter ? There are other species with bigger brains than humans , yet the link between brain size and intelligence is tenuous . This is a developing field of study , so stay tuned .
Significantly , the research does not answer whether the brain shrank over time - brain volume measurements were taken at a single moment . Hence , although some headlines stated the study discovered that drinking too much coffee causes the brain to “ shrink ,” the researchers did not really quantify this .
One limitation of this research is that only a subset of subjects had access to complete diet information . This is an issue since a poor diet increases the risk of cognitive decline and dementia .
Healthy food habits , on the other hand , have repeatedly been linked to longer life and higher cognitive health . As a consequence , dietary variables may be distorting the findings .
Caffeine ’ s cardiovascular effects might be one reason for the increased dementia risk . For example , there is evidence that drinking unfiltered coffee raises cholesterol . High cholesterol is a primary risk factor for atherosclerosis ( fat build-up on artery walls ), linked to vascular dementia .
Other lifestyle variables , such as food and physical inactivity , tend to impact cholesterol levels more . Finally , we don ’ t know why the correlations seen in this research exist .
WHAT ' S THE TAKE-HOME MESSAGE ?
The findings of this study should not be overlooked since they assist us to formulate questions for future research . There is still much to learn about how caffeine interacts with our systems .
This new study builds on prior studies that indicated that drinking coffee in moderation reduces the incidence of dementia by 65 per cent . A growing body of data suggests that drinking coffee is good for your health , lowering your chances of diabetes and heart disease and enhancing metabolism and cognition .
Quantity is important , as it is with most things in life . Although the results here aren ’ t alarming , if you consume six cups of coffee or more each day , you may want to consider cutting down to one to three cups daily . This will minimise your risk of bad health effects , such as those revealed in this research , and may even raise your odds of living a long and healthy life .
It ’ s also important to point out that this study did not look at other sources of caffeine ( such as energy drinks ), nor the types or strengths of coffee or tea people consume . This means it did not make any conclusions about brain size or dementia risk in relation to caffeine , coffee itself .
The author is correct in pointing out this study was purely observational and did not find that high coffee intake “ caused ” the brain to shrink . Perhaps erring on caution would be wise until we know more .
For me “ a bad day with a coffee is better than a good day without a coffee ”. How about you ? – The Health
One limitation of this research is that only a subset of subjects had access to complete diet information . This is an issue since a poor diet increases the risk of cognitive decline and dementia .”
Dr Wael MY Mohamed is with the Department of Basic Medical Science , Kulliyyah of Medicine , International Islamic University Malaysia ( IIUM ).