Four cups of coffee daily may cut risk of early death: study

Drinking up to four cups of coffee - one of the world's most widely consumed beverages - may lower early death risk and help you live longer, a study claims.

Researchers at Hospital de Navarra in Spain found that people who consumed at least four cups of coffee per day had a 64 per cent lower risk of all-cause mortality than those who never or almost never consumed coffee.

There was a 22 per cent lower risk of all-cause mortality for each two additional cups of coffee per day.

"Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages around the world," said Adela Navarro, a cardiologist at Hospital de Navarra.

"We found an inverse association between drinking coffee and the risk of all-cause mortality, particularly in people aged 45 years and above. This may be due to a stronger protective association among older participants," Navarro said.

Previous studies have suggested that drinking coffee might be inversely associated with all-cause mortality but this has not been investigated in a Mediterranean country.

Researchers analysed 19,896 participants whose average age at enrolment was 37.7 years old.

Participants completed a food frequency questionnaire to collect information on coffee consumption, lifestyle and sociodemographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, and previous health conditions. Patients were followed-up for an average of ten years.