Summary: A large observational study from Tufts University reports that drinking one to two cups of caffeinated coffee per day—taken black or with very small amounts of sugar and low-fat dairy—was associated with a lower risk of dying from any cause and specifically from cardiovascular disease. The analysis, which used national survey data on more than 46,000 U.S. adults, found mortality reductions in the range of roughly 14–17% for moderate coffee consumers, but those benefits were not observed when coffee contained higher amounts of added sugar or saturated fat.
The research highlights that the way people prepare their coffee—black or lightly sweetened with minimal saturated fat—may influence the potential health association, while heavily sweetened and creamed coffee did not show the same link to lower mortality risk.
Key points:
- Moderate intake: Consuming about 1–2 cups of caffeinated coffee per day was associated with lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.
- Additives matter: High levels of added sugar or saturated fat appear to weaken or eliminate the observed association between coffee and reduced mortality.
- No clear cancer effect: The study did not find a significant association between coffee consumption and cancer-related deaths.
Source: Tufts University
Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages worldwide, and understanding how habits around its preparation affect long-term health is important. Researchers at the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts examined how coffee intake—and the amount of added sugar and saturated fat in the beverage—relates to mortality risk in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults.
Published online in The Journal of Nutrition, the study examined data from nine cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) spanning 1999–2018, linked to mortality records from the National Death Index. The analytic sample included 46,332 adults aged 20 years and older who provided valid 24-hour dietary recall information.
Coffee consumption was classified by caffeinated versus decaffeinated and by the amounts of added sugar and saturated fat per 8-ounce cup. Low added sugar was defined as less than 2.5 grams per 8-ounce cup—which is about half a teaspoon—while low saturated fat was defined as less than 1 gram per 8-ounce cup (roughly the amount in small portions of low-fat milk). Mortality outcomes assessed were all-cause, cancer-specific, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality.
Over a median follow-up of about 9 to 11 years, 7,074 deaths occurred in the cohort, including 1,176 from cancer and 1,089 from cardiovascular disease. Compared with non-drinkers, participants who consumed at least one cup of caffeinated coffee per day had a 16% lower risk of all-cause mortality; those drinking 2–3 cups per day had a similar estimated reduction of about 17%. However, drinking more than three cups per day did not confer additional reductions in mortality, and the inverse association with CVD mortality appeared to weaken above three cups per day.
Importantly, the apparent survival advantage was confined to black coffee and coffee with low levels of added sugar and saturated fat. In statistical models, black coffee and coffee with low sugar and saturated fat showed hazard ratios consistent with an approximate 14% lower risk of death compared with no coffee. Decaffeinated coffee did not show a significant association with all-cause mortality in this analysis, a result the authors note may reflect lower decaffeinated coffee consumption in the population studied.
Lead authors emphasized that bioactive compounds in coffee may contribute to the observed associations, but adding sugar and saturated fat could diminish those benefits. The findings align with public health advice to limit added sugars and saturated fats as part of a healthy dietary pattern.
The authors acknowledge limitations: dietary data were self-reported using a single first-day 24-hour recall, which can be affected by day-to-day variation and measurement error. As an observational study, it cannot establish causation, only associations.
Funding for the study was provided by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIH award R01MD011501). The content reflects the authors’ views and not necessarily the official position of the funding agency. Additional contributors include Yongyi Pan, Lu Wang, Mengyuan Ruan, and first author Bingjie Zhou.
About this diet and longevity research news
Author: Lisa LaPoint, Tufts University
Source: Tufts University
Contact: Lisa LaPoint – Tufts University
Image: Image credited to Neuroscience News
Original research: Open access. Title: “Coffee Consumption and Mortality among United States Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study” by Fang Fang Zhang et al., published in The Journal of Nutrition.
Abstract
Coffee Consumption and Mortality among United States Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study
Background
While prior research has linked coffee consumption to various health outcomes, it is unclear whether adding sugar and saturated fat alters those associations.
Objectives
This study examined how coffee intake—and the amounts of added sugar and saturated fat in the beverage—relate to mortality among U.S. adults.
Methods
A prospective cohort analysis used NHANES data from 1999–2018 linked with the National Death Index. The sample included 46,332 adults age 20 and older who completed valid first-day 24-hour dietary recalls. Coffee intake was categorized by type (caffeinated or decaffeinated) and by added sugar (<2.5 g per 8-oz) and saturated fat (<1 g per 8-oz). Mortality outcomes were all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Cox proportional hazards models estimated hazard ratios for mortality across coffee intake categories.
Results
Across a median follow-up of 9.3–11.3 years, 7,074 deaths occurred, including 1,176 cancer deaths and 1,089 CVD deaths. Higher coffee consumption was associated with lower all-cause mortality, with hazard ratios suggesting reduced risk for 1–3 cups per day. The inverse association was limited to black coffee and coffee with low added sugar and saturated fat content.
Conclusions
In this national sample, moderate caffeinated coffee consumption—when taken black or with minimal added sugar and saturated fat—was associated with lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. The potential benefits appeared reduced or absent when coffee contained higher levels of added sugar or saturated fat.