Dementia warning: Too much coffee linked to condition – how much should you be drinking?

Dr Hilary issues warning about missed dementia diagnoses

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There are many reasons why a person’s behaviour may change. Dementia is a result of physical changes in the brain, and these can affect a person’s memory, mood and behaviour. Could the amount of coffee you are consuming be inadvertently increasing your risk?

A new study has looked at the impact over consumption of coffee can have on a person.

Those who drank more than six cups per day increased their risk of developing dementia by a staggering 53 percent.

Researchers from Australia found that high coffee consumption was associated with smaller total brain volumes which in turn could increase a person’s risk of dementia.

This comes after previous reports which indicated those who drank coffee in moderation could actually stave off dementia.

Published in Nutritional Neuroscience, the researchers from the University of South Australia delved further into the impact our coffee obsession could have.

Study author, Kitty Pham said: “Coffee is among the most popular drinks in the world. Yet with global consumption being more than nine billion kilograms a year, it’s critical that we understand any potential health implications.

“This is the most extensive investigation into the connections between coffee, brain volume measurements, the risks of dementia, and the risks of stroke.

“It’s also the largest study to consider volumetric brain imaging data and a wide range of confounding factors.

“Accounting for all possible permutations, we consistently found that higher coffee consumption was significantly associated with reduced brain volume.”

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In the study an inverse linear association was investigated between habitual coffee consumption and total brain, grey matter, white matter and hippocampal volumes.

The association between coffee consumption and dementia was non-linear, with evidence for higher odds for non-coffee and decaffeinated coffee drinkers and those drinking around six cups/day, compared to light coffee drinkers.

After the study made a full covariate adjustment, it was found that consumption of six cups/day of coffee was associated with 53% higher odds of dementia compared to consumption of one to two cups/day), with less evidence for an association with stroke.

“Essentially, drinking more than six cups of coffee a day may be putting you at risk of brain diseases such as dementia and stroke,” added Kitty.

According to the European Food Safety Authority, we should be drinking 400mg of coffee a day about four to five cups at the very most although the daily maximum is only 200mg for pregnant women.

“Typical daily coffee consumption is somewhere between one and two standard cups of coffee,” said study author Professor Elina Hyppönen.

She continued: “Of course, while unit measures can vary, a couple of cups of coffee a day is generally fine.

“However, if you’re finding that your coffee consumption is heading up toward more than six cups a day, it’s about time you rethink your next drink.”

Healthy adults are advised to limit their daily coffee intake to about four or five cups, which is roughly 400 milligrams of caffeine, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Previous studies have shown that it’s safe for most people when consumed in low-to-moderate amounts.

However, high doses of caffeine may have unpleasant and even dangerous side effects.

Research has shown that your genes have a major influence on your tolerance to it.
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