Women who drink more than one cup of coffee a day have a lower risk of stroke than those who drink less, researchers have reported.
A Swedish study claims that low or no coffee consumption was associated with an increased risk of stroke.
A total of 34,670 women, aged 49 to 83, took part in the research, led by Dr Susanna Larsson, of the National Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm.
Those who said they drank one-two cups per day, three-four cups or five or more had similar benefits compared with those who reported daily intake of less than one cup of coffee, she said.
The differences were unchanged by smoking status, body mass index, history of diabetes, hypertension or alcohol consumption, indicating that coffee’s effects are not influenced by those known cardiovascular risk factors.
The women participated in the long-running Swedish Mammography Cohort, a study that began in 1997 to investigate the link between diet, lifestyle and disease development.
Researchers collected information on cases of first stroke that occurred between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2008, by linking the study group with the Swedish Hospital Discharge Registry.
They found 1,310 cerebral infarctions/ischemic strokes (caused by blockages), 154 intracerebral haemorrhage, 79 subarachnoid haemorrhages and 137 unspecified strokes.
After adjustment for other risk factors, coffee consumption was associated with a statistically significant lower risk of total stroke, cerebral infarction and subarachnoid haemorrhage, Dr Larsson said.
Coffee drinking might reduce the risk of stroke by weakening subclinical inflammation, reducing oxidative stress and improving insulin sensitivity, she added.
Calling for more research on the subject, Dr Larsson added: "Some women have avoided consuming coffee because they have thought it is unhealthy. In fact, increasing evidence indicates that moderate coffee consumption may decrease the risk of some diseases such as diabetes, liver cancer and possibly stroke."
Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association March 2011
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