HEALTH

Drinking Coffee Every Day Can Help to Reduce Risk of Age Related Frailty

Research found that individuals who drank a greater amount of caffeine through tea or coffee consumption had significantly improved physical function in old age. This research was conducted based on information obtained from more than 12,000 individuals between the ages of 45 and 74 over a 20-year period.

Individuals were interviewed using a structured questionnaire between 1993 and 1998 for the first time in midlife at an average age of 53 years.

During these interviews, individuals were questioned about their consumption habits of caffeinated beverages, which include soft drinks, tea, and coffee, as well as about the portion size and frequency of caffeinated foods consumed, which include chocolate.

Information was also provided on sleep duration, physical activities, dietary habits, height, weight, medical history, and sociodemographic characteristics.

Throughout the second follow-up interviews between 2006 and 2010, individuals were asked to document their weight as well as other information. In the third and follow-up interviews conducted between 2014 and 2017, when the subjects were 73 years old on average, they were asked to document their weight again, and they were also asked a specific question: “Do you feel full? Energy?”

Handgrip strength and time taken to complete the timed get up and go (TUG) test were also assessed. Physical impairment was classified as having at least two of the four factors
1. Weight loss is defined as losing more than 10% of weight between the second and third follow-up.
2. Defining burnout as a yes answer.
3. Slowness is defined as the slowest TUG segment.
4. Weakness is determined by the weakest quintile of handgrip strength.

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Tea and coffee were the main sources of caffeine consumption for these participants, accounting for 12% and 84% of total caffeine. 68.5% of them drank coffee daily. In this group, 52.9% drank 1 cup per day, 42.2% drank 2 to 3 cups per day while the other 4.9% drank 4 or more cups per day.

Individuals were then grouped into 4 categories based on their coffee consumption: no coffee drinkers, 1 cup daily, 2 to 3 cups daily, and 4 or more cups daily.

Tea consumers were grouped into 4 categories based on their frequency of consumption: never, at least once a month, at least once a week, and daily drinkers.

The results revealed that drinking coffee, green or black tea in midlife was independently associated with a significant reduction in the chances of developing physical frailty later in life. Individuals who drank 4 or more cups of coffee per day had a significantly reduced risk of developing physical frailty later in life, compared to individuals who did not drink coffee daily.

Individuals who drank green or black tea daily also had a significantly reduced risk of developing physical frailty compared to non-tea drinkers.

Caffeine consumption and the risk of association with physical frailty in late life were assessed. Higher caffeine consumption was associated with a lower risk of physical frailty, regardless of the caffeine source.

Of the four physical frailty factors, associations were more pronounced for the TUG and handgrip strength tests than for measures of self-reported fatigue and weight loss.

Caffeine has been found to increase muscle cell proliferation and improve muscle weight in studies conducted on mice.

Besides caffeine, tea and coffee also provide rich bioactive polyphenols, which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and have been linked to a reduced risk of conditions that increase frailty, which include neurodegenerative diseases, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

However, more scientific studies are needed to determine the actual underlying mechanisms of the association between tea/coffee and human physical function.

The research suggests that consumption of these caffeinated beverages could be associated with a lower risk of developing physical frailty later in life.

Photo by Candice Pickard on Unsplash

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