2007-12-11 04:30:19
Caffeine may help older women ward off mental decline, research suggests.
French researchers compared women aged 65 and older who drank more than three
cups of coffee per day with those who drank one cup or less per day.
Those who drank more caffeine showed less decline in memory tests over a four
year period.
The study, published in the journal Neurology, raises the possibility that
caffeine may even protect against the development of dementia.
It might be that caffeine could slow the dementia process
Dr Karen Ritchie
French National Institute for Health and Medical Research
The results held up even after factors such as education, high blood pressure
and disease were taken into account.
Caffeine is a known psychostimulant, but this study appears to suggest its
effects may be more profound.
However, lead researcher Dr Karen Ritchie of the French National Institute for
Health and Medical Research warned against jumping to premature conclusions.
She said: "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.
"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, which involved 7,000 women, did not find that caffeine consumers had
lower rates of dementia.
Women 'more sensitive'
Dr Ritchie said: "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."
She said it was not clear why the protective effect did not seem to apply to
men.
"Women may be more sensitive to the effects of caffeine. Their bodies may react
differently to the stimulant, or they may metabolize caffeine differently."
Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said that with
no cure for Alzheimer's disease yet available, research into possible
protective factors was important, particularly as the disease is expected to
become more common.
She said: "This study does not suggest that caffeine actually lowers rates of
dementia in women, but since memory seems improved, it may be that it is
slowing it down.
"However, research over a much longer period is still needed to establish fully
what the affects of caffeine are in both men and women and whether it could
reduce a person's risk of dementia or slow down its progress."
Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research at the Alzheimer's Society, said drinking
coffee and tea had both been tipped as possible ways of delaying the onset of
dementia.
However, she said: "These types of studies are complex because coffee and tea
drinking can be linked to so many other social and life style factors."