A study, published in The BMJ, examined the association between coffee consumption and multiple health outcomes.
Researchers conducted an umbrella review of meta-analyses of observational and interventional studies focusing on coffee consumption and any health outcome. Study data sources included PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and a screening of references.
Researchers identified 201 meta-analyses of observational research with 67 unique health outcomes and 17 meta-analyses of interventional research with nine unique outcomes.
The study shows that coffee consumption was more often associated with benefit than harm for a range of health outcomes, including all cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular disease. Summary estimates indicate that intakes of three to four cups of coffee a day was linked to the largest relative risk reduction for the aforementioned health outcomes.
Additionally, coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of several specific cancers and neurological, metabolic and liver conditions. But, there was also an association between coffee drinking and risk of fracture in women, but not in men.