SAN DIEGO—Coffee consumption is associated with a reduced prevalence of stroke, according to David S. Liebeskind, MD, and colleagues, who presented their findings at the 2009 International Stroke Conference. The researchers reported that as the amount of daily coffee consumption increased, the prevalence of stroke and several vascular risk factors decreased, even after controlling for smoking in heavy coffee drinkers.
Dr. Liebeskind, Associate Neurology Director at the University of California, Los Angeles, Stroke Center, and his team reviewed data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) to determine the relationship between coffee consumption and stroke. “Multivariate logistic regression models were used to relate the amount of coffee use in a food frequency questionnaire, controlling for other vascular risk factors. The amount of coffee use was also analyzed with respect to self-reported TIA or stroke symptoms,” the investigators explained.
Data on coffee consumption and stroke in adults older than 40 were available for 9,384 of 33,994 participants in NHANES III. Coffee consumption ranged from zero to 20 cups per day (median, one cup per day). Five hundred patients (5%) had been told by their physician that they had had a stroke, and 2,793 patients (29.8%) self-reported any type of TIA or stroke symptoms. Coffee intake varied with age, gender, and ethnicity. On average, male gender, white race, and age 50 or older were associated with greater coffee intake.
Subjects who did not drink coffee had a higher prevalence of stroke, with decreasing stroke prevalence observed as the amount of coffee consumed per day increased. Persons who drank one to two cups of coffee per day had a stroke prevalence of 5%, those who drank three to five cups per day had a stroke prevalence of 3.5%, and those consuming more than six cups per day had a stroke prevalence of 2.9%. A lower prevalence of diabetes, cardiac disease, and hypertension was observed with increasing daily coffee intake. In addition, TIA and stroke symptoms were less common in subjects reporting drinking six or more cups of coffee per day.
“Further studies are warranted to pursue the underlying beneficial effects of coffee on stroke, including potential vasoprotective properties,” Dr. Liebeskind and colleagues concluded.