Coffee drinking linked to reduced stroke risk in women

RESEARCHERS have associated drinking more
than a cup of coffee a day with 22 per cent
to 25 per cent lower risk of stroke,
compared with those who drank less. The
study was reported in Stroke: Journal of the
American Heart Association.
Low or no coffee consumption was
associated with an increased risk of stroke
in a study of 34,670 women (ages 49 to 83)
followed for an average 10.4 years. It ’s too
soon to change coffee-drinking habits, but
the study should ease the concerns of some
women, researchers noted.
Also, Ignite programme, a pan African
educational project targeted at enlightening
the public on the relationship between
coffee and health has been launched to the
medical community.
The programme championed by a group of
academicians was unveiled to the medical
community during its stakeholder ’s forum,
which held recently in Lagos. The forum
was attended by doctors, nurses, and other
practitioners across the medical profession.
The forum witnessed various scientific
presentations and interactive sessions with
the Ignite programme team made up by Dr
Jane Ajuluchukwu, a consultant cardiologist
and associate professor of medicine, Dr Brai
Bartholomew, a nutrition researcher with
the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research
(NIMR) and Dr Olayemi Sunday, a clinical
pharmacologist and associate professor of
medicine.
Lead author of the study and a researcher
in the Division of Nutritional Epidemiology,
National Institute of Environmental
Medicine, Karolinska Institute in Stockholm,
Sweden, Dr. Susanna Larsson, said: “Coffee
is one of the most widely consumed
beverages in the world. Therefore, even
small health effects of substances in coffee
may have large public health
consequences. ”
Groups who reported drinking one to two
cups per day, three to four cups per day or
five or more cups per day had similar
benefits compared with those who
reported daily intake of less than a cup of
coffee, researchers said.
The differences were unchanged by
smoking status, body mass index, history of
diabetes, hypertension or alcohol
consumption, indicating that coffee ’s
effects are not influenced by those known
cardiovascular risk factors.
Scientists have theorised that coffee could
have either beneficial or harmful effects on
the cardiovascular system, but earlier
studies have been inconclusive. Only one
previous prospective study, which was also
inconclusive, examined the association
between coffee consumption and stroke
incidence in healthy women.
In a presentation tagged “coffee, caffeine
and health,” the team’s coordinator,
Ajuluchukwu, said the programme will be
very impactful for the medical community
who are committed to consistent learning
and holds the key to safe healthcare
services as the Ignite forum serves as a
medical continuing education session.