Can coffee or tea reduce dementia risk?

Can coffee or tea reduce dementia risk? Could your daily cup of coffee or tea be a shield against dementia?

A recent study published in Scientific Reports has found that drinking moderate amounts of caffeinated beverages might help lower the risk of dementia, especially for people with high blood pressure.

Dementia is a term used to describe a group of conditions that affect a person’s ability to think, remember, and make decisions, often interfering with their daily life. It is not a specific disease but rather a general term for the decline in cognitive function, which can be caused by various conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, or brain injuries.

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The symptoms may include memory loss, confusion, difficulty with language, and changes in behaviour. While dementia primarily affects older people, it is not a normal part of ageing and can vary in severity from person to person.

However, the researchers analysed data from over 453,000 participants and found that consuming half a cup to one cup of coffee or four to five cups of tea daily could offer some protection.

The study found that those with hypertension face a greater risk of developing dementia, contributing to about 11-20% of all dementia cases. More than half of the participants had high blood pressure, with an average age of approximately 72 years.

The study followed the participants for an average of 15 years. Researchers did not include those who already had dementia at the start of the study or those with secondary high blood pressure.

The researchers found a J-shaped link between coffee intake and all-cause dementia in participants with high blood pressure. J-shaped and U-shaped patterns suggest that moderate consumption poses a lower risk compared to either very low or very high levels of consumption.

“There was an association between the risk of dementia and coffee and tea consumption in the total population, and the relationship between the risk of all-cause dementia and the consumption of coffee and tea in hypertensive people showed J-shaped and U-shaped patterns, respectively.

“The significant association between the amount of coffee and tea consumed and the risk of all-cause and vascular dementia was more likely to be found in the hypertensive population than in the non-hypertensive population.

A U-shaped relationship was observed between daily caffeine consumption and the risk of developing all-cause dementia and vascular dementia in individuals with hypertension,” the study concluded.