NIH Study Finds That Coffee Drinkers Have Lower Risk of Death

parallel_prankster writes "Older adults who drank coffee — caffeinated or decaffeinated — had a lower risk of death [full paper is paywalled, at the New England Journal of Medicine] overall than others who did not drink coffee, according to a study by researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and AARP. Coffee drinkers were less likely to die from heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, injuries and accidents, diabetes, and infections, although the association was not seen for cancer. These results from a large study of older adults were observed after adjustment for the effects of other risk factors on mortality, such as smoking and alcohol consumption. They also found that the association between coffee and reduction in risk of death increased with the amount of coffee consumed. Relative to men and women who did not drink coffee, those who consumed three or more cups of coffee per day had approximately a 10 percent lower risk of death. Researchers caution, however, that they can't be sure whether these associations mean that drinking coffee actually makes people live longer."

Statistics, statistics...

[bobgap]

This is probably because people with bad hearts, etc., do not drink coffee, hence only people who are healthier drink coffee when they are old. Isn't it amazing that they would have a reduced death rate. Imagine what the relative death rate would be for old people who skydive, compared to those who don't?

Control for sugar

[XanC]

My guess is that people who don't drink coffee more likely DO drink sugary sodas.

Re:I kinda thought risk of death...

[starfishsystems]

The reason why these jokes keep coming up is because "risk of death" is a ridiculous phrase if not explicitly qualified. So, for slightly different reasons, is "mortality risk."

If you want the canonical term that's used in a statistical or medical context, just say "mortality". We'll all understand perfectly what you mean, and there will be no snickering. You don't say "mortality risk" because that would be redundant. It makes you look like you don't know what you're talking about. (Of course, if you want to create that impression, you're on the right track.)

Another conventional term is "death rate". Both "mortality" and "death rate" refer to the relative frequency of deaths in a given population under given conditions.

Don't drink coffee

[MM-tng]

I stopped drinking coffee a few years ago and feel a lot better. It upsets my stomach. It made me a lot more tense. I tended to sleep badly. Waking up at 5am. Headaches during the day. Generally felt misserable. It took about 6 months to kick off. Coffee is an adiction. And a pretty bad one. I can not understand these studies, probably funded by the coffee makers. Because generally if you drink coffee you will feel awful.