Drinking coffee reduces risk of death from all causes, study finds

People who drink around three cups of coffee a day may live longer than non-coffee drinkers, a landmark study has found. The findings come from the largest study of its kind, in which scientists analysed data from more than half a million people across 10 European countries, including the UK, to explore the effect of coffee consumption on risk of mortality. Researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and Imperial College London found that higher levels of coffee consumption were associated with a reduced risk of death from all causes, particularly from circulatory diseases and diseases related to the digestive tract. Coffee is one of the world's most commonly consumed beverages, with an estimated 2.25 billion cups drank around the world each day. It contains a number of compounds which can interact with the body, including caffeine, diterpenes and antioxidants, and the ratios of these compounds can be affected by the variety of methods used to prepare coffee. These findings add to a growing body of evidence which indicates that drinking coffee not only is safe, but it may actually have a protective health effect for people Professor Elio Riboli Director, School of Public Health, Imperial College London Previous studies looking for a link between coffee consumption and health outcomes have revealed conflicting results, however, large studies in both the US and Japan have since revealed a potential beneficial effect of drinking coffee on risk of death from all causes.