Young coffee addicts may be endangering their health, researchers warned last night.
A new study suggests drinking an average of four or more cups a day contributes to a massive increase in the risk of dying faced by young adults.
The study, involving more than 40,000 people, found the risk affects people under the age of 55 – but not older people. The risk of dying among under 55s was found to be increased by half among heavy coffee drinkers.
The findings, published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, may mean coffee drinkers are at risk – or may simply arise because coffee addiction indicates an underlying problem which places young adults in danger.
Researchers found that heavy users of coffee tended to be relatively unfit and to be heavy smokers.
They say that coffee addiction could be linked to underlying genetic factors, which pose an increased risk of dying.
There was no indication that coffee drinking triggered heart problems.
Researcher Dr Carl Lavie, of Ochsner Medical Center, New Orleans, USA, said: "There continues to be considerable debate about the health effects of caffeine, and coffee specifically, with some reports suggesting toxicity and some even suggesting beneficial effects."
Association of Coffee Consumption with All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality. Mayo Clinic Proceedings October 2013; Volume 88, Issue 10; DOI: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2013.06.020
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