A new review and meta-analysis1, published in Public Health Nutrition, has explored the relationship between coffee consumption and mortality from all causes. The review included seventeen studies of coffee consumption and total mortality, including 131,212 cases of death among the 1,054,571 participants.

The results support a significant inverse (i.e. favourable) association between coffee consumption and risk of death, especially in women. The greatest benefits were observed in coffee drinkers who drunk 3-5 cups of coffee per day. The reduction in total mortality was less significant in those who drunk large quantities of coffee (more than 5 cups per day).

Recent research on coffee and mortality

‍This new paper adds to the body of research on this topic. Two meta-analyses2,3 from 2013, also concluded that coffee consumption is inversely related to the risk of mortality from all causes. However some individual studies have produced conflicting results. A study4 by Liu at al., for example, suggested a 21% increased mortality rate in those drinking more than 28 cups of coffee a week.

To date, the available scientific evidence indicates a potential favourable trend between moderate coffee consumption and reduced rate of mortality. For more information on the latest research on coffee and health, click here.