(SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE) — Coffee drinkers live longer, according to two large-scale studies released Monday that add to extensive research indicating coffee consumption is associated with better health.
The studies examined the health histories of hundreds of thousands of people who were tracked over many years. They found that coffee-drinking reduced the risk of various diseases among people from several ethnicities, and this effect was seen in drinkers of regular or decaffeinated coffee. And the more coffee consumed, the greater the benefit.
These are observational studies, not controlled clinical trials. So while they demonstrate an association, they don’t prove cause and effect. But at the least, researchers said the latest evidence reinforces a large body of previous reports indicating there’s no harm from coffee — and that it might very well benefit people’s health.
