Complain about a product or service

Caffeine May Keep Dementia At Bay In Women

August 7, 2007

• Eye Test Could Aid Alzheimer's Detection • Delaying Aging Process May Prevent Alzheimer's • Too Much Selenium Can Increase Cholesterol • Money Management Problems Could Be Alzheimer's Warning • Mediterranean Diet Linked With Lower Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease • High Cholesterol In Midlife Raises Risk Of Late-Life Dementia • Some Blood Pressure Drugs May Help Protect Against Dementia • Study Suggests Earlier Alzheimer's Treatment • Alzheimer's Cases Rise Among "Oldest Old" • Researchers Find Caffeine Effective Alzheimer’s Treatment • Landmark Alzheimer's Drug Cleared For Clinical Trials • Blood Test May Diagnose Alzheimer's • Diet May Be Factor in Memory Retention • Insulin May Combat Alzheimer's • Moderate Drinking Can Reduce Risks of Alzheimer's • Daily Pill Said To Stop Alzheimer's • Low Levels of 'Good Cholesterol' Linked to Memory Loss, Dementia Risk • Chemical in Celery May Fight Alzheimer's • Dementia Linked To Obesity • Studies Find Link Between Diabetes and Alzheimer's --- • Index to all Alzheimer's stories

New research suggests caffeine may help older women protect their thinking skills.

The study published in Neurology found that women age 65 and older who drank more than three cups of coffee - or the equivalent in tea - per day had less decline over time on tests of memory than women who drank one cup or less of coffee or tea per day.

The results held up even after researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect memory abilities, such as age, education, disability, depression, high blood pressure, medications, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic illnesses.

“Caffeine is a psycho-stimulant which appears to reduce cognitive decline in women,” said study author Karen Ritchie, PhD, of INSERM, the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research, in Montpellier, France.

“While we have some ideas as to how this works biologically, we need to have a better understanding of how caffeine affects the brain before we can start promoting caffeine intake as a way to reduce cognitive decline," she said. "But the results are interesting – caffeine use is already widespread and it has fewer side effects than other treatments for cognitive decline, and it requires a relatively small amount for a beneficial effect.”

The study involved 7,000 people whose cognitive abilities and caffeine consumption were evaluated over four years.

Compared to women who drank one cup or less of coffee per day, those who drank over three cups were less likely to show as much decline in memory. Moreover, the benefits increased with age – coffee drinkers being 30 percent less likely to have memory decline at age 65 and rising to 70 percent less likely over age 80.

“We really need a longer study to look at whether caffeine prevents dementia; it might be that caffeine could slow the dementia process rather than preventing it,” said Ritchie.

Ritchie said researchers aren’t sure why caffeine didn’t show the same result in men. “Women may be more sensitive to the effects of caffeine,” she said. “Their bodies may react differently to the stimulant, or they may metabolize caffeine differently.”

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Follow us on Twitter.