Drinking coffee or tea may be associated with a lower risk of stroke and dementia, according to the largest study of its kind.
Strokes cause 10% of deaths globally, and dementia is one of the biggest health challenges in the world - 130 million people are expected to live with it by 2050.
In the survey, 365,000 people aged 50-74 were followed for more than a decade. At first participants, who were involved in the UK Biobank study, self-reported how much coffee and tea they drank. During the research period, 5,079 of them developed dementia and 10,053 had at least one stroke.
The researchers found that people who drank two to three cups of coffee or three to five cups of tea a day, or a combination of four to six cups of coffee and tea, had a lower risk of stroke or dementia.
Those who drank two to three cups of coffee and two to three cups of tea a day had a 32% lower risk of stroke. These people had a 28% lower risk of dementia compared to those who did not drink tea or coffee.
For the journal Plos Medicine, the authors said: "Our findings suggested that moderate consumption of coffee and tea alone or in combination were associated with a lower risk of stroke and dementia."
Dr. Rosa Sancho, chair of research at Alzheimer's Research in the UK, said: "For most of us, our risk of dementia depends on the complex interaction of our age, genetics and lifestyle. Understanding what aspects of our lifestyle have the greatest effect on brain health is the key to empowering people to make informed life decisions. ”
Sources: CNN, Plos Medicine
