A large-scale U.S. study on health and nutrition has shown that daily consumption of coffee beverages can significantly prevent heart disease in older adults with normal blood pressure. Researchers believe that drinking coffee causes a "healthy" increase in blood pressure, counteracting the post-meal blood pressure drop that often occurs in the elderly.
In the study, which involved 6,594 adults, 426 died from heart disease during the 9-year follow-up period. Researchers found that among those aged 65 and older, daily consumption of more coffee beverages was associated with a significantly lower mortality rate from heart disease. The effect of coffee showed a dose-response pattern—the higher the coffee intake, the lower the risk of heart disease, and vice versa. Compared to those who drank half a serving of coffee daily, individuals who consumed four or more servings had a 53% lower risk of dying from heart disease. Participants who consumed two to four servings daily had a 32% lower risk compared to those who drank half a serving daily. Researchers believe that both brewed and instant coffee contain a large amount of caffeine per serving, which enhances the heart-protective effects of coffee. However, for individuals with severe hypertension or those under 65, the heart-protective effect of daily coffee consumption was not significant.
Dr. James A. Greenberg, the lead researcher from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, and his colleagues suggest that the conflicting conclusions from many studies on caffeine and heart disease may be due to differences between younger and older populations. They point out that a study found an increased risk of heart disease for young coffee drinkers, which decreased with age.
As mentioned above, caffeine may reduce heart disease mortality in the elderly by preventing post-meal blood pressure drops. This phenomenon becomes more pronounced with age. Since coffee consumption is widespread and heart disease is a leading cause of death in the elderly, if these findings are confirmed, this research could have significant implications.