Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages in the world, and very well accepted among athletes and people who take care of their lifestyle. Its consumption has been linked on several occasions with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, although now, un study has added a new benefit: it could prevent falls in older adults.
Coffee could be the ally of the elderly
The research has great weight on the part of the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), the Health Research Institute of the La Paz University Hospital (IdiPAZ), the Biomedical Research Consortium in the Epidemiology and Public Health Network and the Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies in Food. The results indicate that drinking coffee was associated with a lower risk of falls in the participants of Seniors-ENRICA (Estudio de Nutrición y Riesgo Cardiovascular en España) and UK Biobank (United Kingdom).
Falls are very common among older people, and is one of the leading causes of injury, disability, and premature death. «These results show that coffee consumption does not pose a risk of falling in this population.«, says Marcos D. Machado-Fragua, author of the study.
The studio Seniors-ENRICA It began in 2008-2010 with some 3.290 Spaniards over the age of 60 from all over the country. On the other hand, the study UK Biobank It started in 2006-2010 with the participation of 81.720 participants, also over 60 years of age and from all over the United Kingdom.
Both studies collected sociodemographic information; of lifestyles, state of health and diagnosis of diseases, as well as blood and urine samples. They were then followed up for the subsequent 7 years. «Finally, we observed that the participants who consumed more total coffee and caffeinated coffee had a lower risk of falling. Furthermore, in the Seniors-ENRICA study it was also observed that participants who had a higher caffeine intake had a lower risk of falls with mild physical consequences", comments Esther Lopez-Garcia, co-author of the study.
The authors value that «Although the results are consistent in these two populations with different lifestyles and sociodemographic characteristics, more studies are needed to confirm these associations in other populations and to establish which coffee constituents are responsible for the observed association.«. It is true that drinking coffee could be beneficial and safe for the elderly, but personal advice would be needed on how much they should take so that they do not present other health problems.