Ladies! Your Daily Dose of Coffee and Tea May Cut the Risk of Death from Diabetes

Women with diabetes who regularly drink a cup of coffee, tea or other caffeinated drinks may be at a reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases and cancer. According to a study presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, the more caffeine women consumed, the lower the risk of dying compared to those who never consumed caffeine. The previous research suggested that coffee could prevent or delay the risk of developing Type-2 diabetes.

The protective effect depended on the source of the caffeine: higher levels of caffeine consumption from coffee were associated with a decreased risk of death from any cause, particularly from cardiovascular disease; while women who consumed more caffeine from tea were less likely to die from cancer. Average daily coffee consumption is between 100mg and 300mg per day, depending on age and country.

Dr. Joao Sergio and Professor Davide Carvalho from the University of Porto examined the association between varying levels of caffeine intake and mortality in more than 3,000 men and women with diabetes from the year 1999 to 2010. The participants reported their caffeine intake from coffee, tea and soft drinks when they entered the study using 24 hour dietary recalls.

Over the course of 11 years of research, about 618 participants died. The researchers found that women with diabetes, who consumed up to 100 milligram per day, were 51 percent less likely to die than those who consumed no caffeine and women with diabetes who consumed at least 100-200 milligram per day had a 57 percent lower risk of death compared with non-consumers.

Among the diabetic women who consumed over 200 milligram per day (which makes 2 regular cups of coffee), the reduced risk of death was about 66%. When divided into four groups of tea consumption, the high caffeine from tea consumers had an 80% decreased risk of cancer compared with women with zero caffeine consumption from tea.