There’s more evidence that consumption of two to three cups of coffee per day, whether decaffeinated, ground or instant, is associated with a reduction in incident CVD and mortality – but some benefits are dependent on the type of brew consumed.
UK Biobank data from more than 400,000 participants over a median follow-up period of 12.5 years showed significant reductions in the risk of incident CHD associated with habitual coffee intake of up to 5 cups/day, with the lowest risk in those who consumed 2–3 cups/day (HR 0.89, CI 0.86–0.91, P < 0.0001).
Coffee consumption at all levels was also associated with a significant reduction in the risk of CCF and ischaemic stroke – the lowest risk observed in those who consumed 2–3 cups/day, with HR 0.83 for CCF (CI 0.79–0.87, P < 0.0001), and HR 0.84 for ischaemic stroke (CI 0.78–0.90, P < 0.0001).
The lowest risk for arrhythmias was seen in those who consumed 2–3 coffee cups/day, with a HR 0.91.
“For AF/flutter, significant risk reductions were seen in those who consumed between 1 and 5 cups/day, with the peak risk reduction seen in 4–5 cups/day (HR 0.88, CI 0.83–0.94, P < 0.0001).”
“For VT/VF, increasing coffee intake was associated with lower risk of incident arrhythmia, with the lowest risk seen in 4–5 cups/day (HR 0.83, CI 0.70–0.97, P = 0.0201).”
The study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology [link here], said a significant reduction in all-cause mortality was associated with coffee consumption up to 5 cups/day, with the greatest effect seen with 2–3 cups/day (HR 0.86, CI 0.83–0.89, P < 0.0001).
When analysing the data according to coffee subtype, arrhythmia reduction was seen with caffeinated but not decaffeinated coffee.
However all three coffee subtypes were associated with a significant reduction in CVD, CCF, CHD, stroke, and CV/all-cause mortality.