Research Shows Coffee and Tea Can Help Lower the Risk of Stroke and Dementia

According to new research, drinking coffee or tea could be linked to a lower risk of stroke and dementia.

According to researchers from Tianjin Medical University in Tianjin, China, among 365,682 participants studied for 10 to 14 years, those who drank two to three cups of coffee, three to five cups of tea, or a combination of four to six cups of coffee or tea a day had the lowest risk of stroke and dementia.

Strokes account for 10% of all deaths worldwide, while dementia is one of the world's most pressing health issues, with 130 million people expected to be affected by the disease by 2050.

The study, conducted by Yuan Zhang and colleagues from Tianjin Medical University in China, suggests that drinking coffee alone or in combination with tea could reduce the risk of post-stroke dementia.

The study followed 365,682 people between the ages of 50 and 74 who were enrolled in the study between 2006 and 2010, and they were followed up on until 2020. Participants in the UK Biobank study self-reported how much coffee and tea they drank at the start. Throughout the study, 5,079 of them developed dementia, and 10,053 had at least one stroke.

According to the study, Those who drank two to three cups of coffee or two to three cups of tea per day had a 32% lower risk of stroke. Compared to those who did not drink tea or coffee, these people had a 28% lower risk of dementia.

According to the study's authors, the UK Biobank represents a healthier sample of people than the general population, limiting the ability to generalize the associations between coffee and tea and their potential benefits.

Furthermore, because few people in the study developed dementia or stroke, it may be difficult to extrapolate rates accurately for larger populations.

"Our findings suggested that moderate consumption of coffee and tea, separately or in combination, were associated with a lower risk of stroke and dementia," the researchers wrote.

Many studies have suggested that drinking coffee and tea may have health benefits, but it is important to note that the researchers could only say the two were linked, not that the beverages offered protection.