People in the U.K. who had more than one daily cup of coffee had a lower mortality risk than non-coffee drinkers, a study found.
was published Monday
On the whole, people who drank unsweetened coffee were 16 percent to 21 percent less likely to die during the study period than people who didn’t drink coffee at all, the results showed.But the researchers didn't look at causality, so they couldn't say whether coffee is directly responsible for the outcome.
It’s possible, for example, that people who regularly drink coffee are wealthier and therefore more likely to have better health care or more time for leisure or fitness than non-coffee drinkers, which could lower their mortality risk.The participants in the new study were around 56 years old, on average, and they were recruited from 2006 to 2010. The researchers accounted for factors like diet, smoking, socioeconomic status, pre-existing health problems and exposure to air pollution.
The study didn’t find conclusive results for people who drank coffee with artificial sweeteners; neither did it look specifically at people who added milk or cream.