THURSDAY, August 15, 2013 — Many people need coffee in the morning to get through the day, but if you’re young, you may want to watch how much you drink, according to a new study in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Researchers from the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina found that people under the age of 55 who drink 4 or more cups of coffee every day faced a 50 percent higher mortality rate – and experts say that anyone drinking that much coffee needs to cut back.
Researchers looked at data on more than 43,000 people who answered survey questions on lifestyle habits and personal and family medical history between 1979 and 1998, and found that over the next 17 years, 2,512 people died. Young, heavy coffee drinkers were more likely to die than those who did not drink as much coffee, according to the study.
“A positive association between heavy coffee consumption and all-cause mortality was observed in the total population of men and women younger than 55 years,” the researchers, led by Junxiu Liu, MD, a researcher in the department of biostatistics and epidemiology at the University of South Carolina, wrote in the study. “However, for people 55 years and older, this association was not statistically significant for either sex. Hence, it may be appropriate to recommend that younger people, in particular, avoid heavy coffee consumption.”
The researchers said it’s unclear why older people did not feel the effects of too much coffee. Younger people, however, are likely succumbing not only to the effects of the coffee, but to other poor health habits they have as well, said Rebecca Solomon, a clinical nutritionist at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.
“Heavy caffeine users also have other vices that they cling to,” Solomon said, “such as smoking and excess drinking. The other thing about caffeine is that it can dehydrate you. If these people are not drinking water, it could also contribute to these negative effects.”
In addition, someone who drinks 28 cups of coffee every week likely has poor sleep habits as well, she said.
“Someone drinking that much coffee isn’t getting enough sleep, I think that’s obvious,” Solomon said. “There are tons of studies that show that a lack of sleep can cause obesity, cardiovascular disease and other health issues.”
And even though caffeine can have some health benefits, such as reducing the risk of breast cancer, Parkinson’s disease and alleviating depression, Solomon said it’s important to remember that caffeine is a drug.
“Any drug in excess will have negative effects,” she said.
But if you’re trying to cut back, it’s important not to quit all at once, Soloman said.
“Caffeine is addictive, and going cold-turkey will result in mind-splitting headaches,” she said. “I would recommend cutting that intake in half, or trying half-decaf.”
“One or two cups a day is fine,” Soloman added, “but most people can live on less caffeine than they think.”
Last Updated: 8/15/2013