Good morning, everyone! And don’t hesitate to get a couple extra shots of espresso in that extra-large Ethiopian blend, because science says that drinking lots of coffee makes you live forever!! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
Okay, so that’s not actually the conclusion reached by the European Society of Cardiology in a new study summarized in Science Daily, because there is no way to avoid death. But an association was found between drinking coffee every day and not dying, particularly in people over the age of 45. Researchers tracked 19,896 subjects with an average age of 37.7 over the course of 10 years, and found that, adjusted for variables like age, sex, and diet, “participants who consumed at least four cups of coffee per day had a 64 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality than those who never or almost never consumed coffee.” So it’s not just drinking coffee that’s associated with lower risk of death, it’s drinking shitloads of coffee. The association was not significant among younger participants, but they have a lower overall risk of death anyway.
The conclusion that coffee helps you live longer has been known for a while, but previous studies didn’t adjust for that notoriously healthy Mediterranean lifestyle. Besides, we always enjoy having our lifestyle choices validated here at The A.V. Club. So if your coworkers start asking if you’re okay as you sweat and fidget at your desk, just tell them that doctors—European doctors, even—say that four cups of coffee a day is fine for healthy people.