Celebrate alcohol and coffee drinkers, you may live longer than those who abstain from the two
A new study by the University of California-Irvine found that consuming moderate amounts of coffee and alcohol is linked to living a longer life.
The study also found that people who were overweight in their 70s lived longer than underweight folks.The important word to remember is ‘moderate.’
Those who drank two glasses of beer or wine every day decreased their chances at a premature death by 18 percent, and those who drank two cups of coffee per day decreased their chances by 10 percent
The research, which is called ‘90+ Study‘ began in 2003 with a goal to examine ‘the oldest-old’ age group, about 1,600 people, which is the fastest growing age group in the U.S., to determine what’s key to living to your 90th birthday and beyond.
“More than 1,600 people have enrolled,” the study’s authors stated. “Because little is known about people who achieve this milestone, the remarkable increase in the number of oldest-old presents a public health priority to promote the quality as well as the quantity of life.”
Goals of the study
- Determine factors associated with longevity: What makes people live to age 90 and beyond? What types of food, activities or lifestyles are associated with living longer?
- Examine the epidemiology of dementia in the oldest-old: How many people aged 90 and older have dementia? How many become demented each year? What are ways to remain dementia-free into your 90s?
- Examine rates of cognitive and functional decline in the oldest-old: How do memory loss and disability affect those in their 90s? How can people prevent memory loss and disability at this age?
- Examine clinical pathological correlations in the oldest-old: Do the brains of people in their 90s show evidence of memory loss and dementia? Do people with dementia have differences in their brains that can be detected and treated?
- Determining Modifiable Risk Factors for Mortality and Dementia: What kinds of things can people change in their lives to live longer? Can people change their risk of dementia through diet, exercise or supplements?
Here are the major findings of the study, as listed in study’s summary:
- People who drank moderate amounts of alcohol or coffee lived longer than those who abstained.
- People who were overweight in their 70s lived longer than normal or underweight people did.
- Over 40% of people aged 90 and older suffer from dementia while almost 80% are disabled. Both are more common in women than men.
- About half of people with dementia over age 90 do not have sufficient neuropathology in their brain to explain their cognitive loss.
- People aged 90 and older with an APOE2 gene are less likely to have clinical Alzheimer’s dementia, but are much more likely to have Alzheimer’s neuropathology in their brains.
According to the study, those who drank two glasses of beer or wine every day decreased their chances at a premature death by 18 percent, and those who drank two cups of coffee per day decreased their chances by 10 percent.
