Promising Study Links Coffee Consumption To Reduced Dementia Risk
Key summary
A JAMA review (Feb 2026) analyzed data from over 100,000 adults spanning four decades.
Investigators were based at Harvard Medical School and the T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Participants came from the Nurses’ Health Study (1980–2023, >86,000 women) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1986–2023, >45,000 men).
The analysis examined three lifestyle factors—caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and tea—with dietary data collected every 2–4 years and both objective and subjective cognitive outcomes assessed.
The report notes Alzheimer’s is the most common U.S. dementia cause (over 6 million now; likely 13 million in ~20 years); coffee and caffeinated tea have some cardiovascular links but associations with coronary disease and cognition remain unclear; an ongoing randomized trial in Lille is testing caffeine in early cognitive decline.
