Original Article

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2007) 61, 226–232. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602495; published online 16 August 2006

Coffee consumption is inversely associated with cognitive decline in elderly European men: the FINE Study

Guarantor: B van Gelder.

Contributors: All authors have contributed substantially to conception and design of the study, or analyses and interpretation of the data. They approved the final version and will take public responsibility for the content of this paper. There are no conflicts of interest with other organizations:
BM van Gelder prepared part of the database, analyzed the data, and wrote the draft of the paper. B Buijsse, M Tijhuis and S Kalmijn contributed to the data analysis and drafting of the paper. S Kalmijn, S Giampaoli, A Nissinen and D Kromhout all contributed to the data collection. S Giampaoli, A Nissinen and D Kromhout are principal investigators of the FINE study in respectively Italy, Finland and The Netherlands. D Kromhout contributed to the drafting of the paper. All authors contributed to the final version of the paper and gave their approval to publish this final version.

B M van Gelder1, B Buijsse2,3, M Tijhuis1,malt, S Kalmijn4, S Giampaoli5, A Nissinen6,7 and D Kromhout3

  1. 1Centre for Prevention and Health Services Research, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands
  2. 2Centre for Nutrition and Health, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands
  3. 3Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands
  4. 4Julius Centre for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
  5. 5National Institute of Health, Rome, Italy
  6. 6National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland
  7. 7Department of Neuroscience and Neurology, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland

Correspondence: BM van Gelder, Centre for Prevention and Health Services Research, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, PO Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands. E-mail: Boukje.van.Gelder@rivm.nl

maltDeceased 9 November 2005

Received 19 September 2005; Revised 21 April 2006; Accepted 23 May 2006; Published online 16 August 2006.

Top

Abstract

Objective:

 

To investigate whether coffee consumption is associated with 10-year cognitive decline in elderly men, as results of previous studies obtained hitherto have been controversial and prospective information on this association has been lacking.

Design, subjects and setting:

 

Six hundred and seventy six healthy men born between 1900 and 1920 from Finland, Italy and the Netherlands participated in a 10-year prospective cohort study. Cognitive functioning was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (0–30 points, with a higher score indicating better cognitive performance). Coffee consumption was estimated in cups per day. A mixed longitudinal model was used to investigate the association between baseline coffee consumption and 10-year cognitive decline. Multiple adjustments were made.

Results:

 

Men who consumed coffee had a 10-year cognitive decline of 1.2 points (4%). Non-consumers had an additional decline of 1.4 points (P<0.001). An inverse and J-shaped association was observed between the number of cups of coffee consumed and cognitive decline, with the least cognitive decline for three cups of coffee per day (0.6 points). This decline was 4.3 times smaller than the decline of non-consumers (P<0.001).

Conclusions:

 

Findings suggest that consuming coffee reduces cognitive decline in elderly men. An inverse and J-shaped association may exist between the number of cups of coffee consumed and cognitive decline, with the least cognitive decline for men consuming three cups of coffee per day.

Keywords:

coffee, cognition, elderly, epidemiology

Extra navigation

.

naturejobs

More science jobs
Post a job for free
ADVERTISEMENT