And here is one more study that shows that you are less likely to die if you drink coffee. Obviously, we all die eventually. But why hurry the process? There have been quite a few research studies showing that drinking coffee reduces the risk of diseases like type II diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and many more. And studies from the Harvard School of Public health have shown that over a given period of time you are less likely to die if you drink coffee. (40 Years of Observations on the Effects of Coffee) One more bit of proof was recently published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. The article deals with the association of coffee consumption and mortality in general and from specific causes. In this case the authors are able to say that the risk of death from specific diseases is reduced by coffee consumption. The link is to the abstract.

Concerns about high caffeine intake and coffee as a vehicle for added fat and sugar have raised questions about the net impact of coffee on health. Although inverse associations have been observed for overall mortality, data for cause-specific mortality are sparse.

Enrollees were free of cancer and had no history of cardiovascular disease. 90,317 enrolled and 8,718 occurred during the ten years that individuals were in the study. Results were statistically adjusted for smoking.

Coffee drinkers, as compared with nondrinkers, had lower hazard ratios for overall mortality (<1 cup/day: hazard ratio (HR) = 0.99 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.92, 1.07); 1 cup/day: HR = 0.94 (95% CI: 0.87, 1.02); 2–3 cups/day: HR = 0.82 (95% CI: 0.77, 0.88); 4–5 cups/day: HR = 0.79 (95% CI: 0.72, 0.86); ≥6 cups/day: HR = 0.84 (95% CI: 0.75, 0.95)). Similar findings were observed for decaffeinated coffee and coffee additives. Inverse associations were observed for deaths from heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, pneumonia and influenza, and intentional self-harm, but not cancer. Coffee may reduce mortality risk by favorably affecting inflammation, lung function, insulin sensitivity, and depression.

The hazard ratio in this instance is the risk of dying during the ten years you were in the study. A cup of coffee a day reduced your risk by about one percent while two to three cups a day reduced your risk by five percent. People who drank four to five cups a day has a fourteen percent low risk of dying during the course of the study and if you drank six cups or more your risk was reduced by sixteen percent.

Decaf and regular coffee had similar effects. Although the researchers did not find a lowering of risk of death from cancer from drinking coffee the incidence of dying from the following diseases was reduced.

• Heart disease
• Chronic respiratory diseases
• Diabetes
• Pneumonia and influenza
• Intentional self-harm (suicide)

The authors believe that coffee reduces mortality by its effects on reducing inflammation, helping lung function, improving insulin sensitivity and alleviating depression. Antioxidants in coffee have been linked to several of the benefits of coffee and would seem to fit the picture of inflammation reduction and improved insulin sensitivity as reasons for decreased mortality in coffee drinkers.