Citation

Machado-Fragua MD, Struijk EA, Ballesteros JM, Ortolá R, Rodriguez-Artalejo F, López-García E. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2019; 109(5): 1431-1438.

Affiliation

IMDEA-Food Institute, CEI UAM+CSIC, Madrid, Spain.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, American Society of Clinical Nutrition)

DOI

10.1093/ajcn/nqy369

PMID

31005970

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Habitual coffee consumption has been associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and sarcopenia, which are strong risk factors of falls. In addition, caffeine intake stimulates attention and vigilance, and reduces reaction time. Therefore, a protective effect of coffee on the risk of falling can be hypothesized.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the association between habitual coffee consumption and the risk of ≥1 falls, injurious falls, and falls with fracture in older people.

METHODS: Data were taken from 2964 participants aged ≥60 y from the Seniors-ENRICA (Study on Nutrition and Cardiovascular Risk in Spain) cohort and 8999 participants aged ≥60 y from the UK Biobank cohort. In the Seniors-ENRICA study, habitual coffee consumption was assessed with a validated diet history in 2008-2010, and falls were ascertained up to 2015. In the UK Biobank study, coffee was measured with 3-5 multiple-pass 24-h food records starting in 2006, and falls were assessed up to 2016.

RESULTS: A total of 793 individuals in Seniors-ENRICA and 199 in UK Biobank experienced ≥1 fall during follow-up. After multivariable adjustment for major lifestyle and dietary risk factors and compared with daily consumption of <1 cup of coffee, the pooled HR for ≥1 fall was 0.75 (95% CI: 0.52, 1.07) for total coffee consumption of 1 cup/d and 0.74 (95% CI: 0.62, 0.90) for ≥2 cups/d (P-trend = 0.001). The corresponding figures for caffeinated coffee were 0.67 (95% CI: 0.42, 1.07) and 0.70 (95% CI: 0.56, 0.87) (P-trend < 0.001). Decaffeinated coffee was not associated with risk of falling in the analyzed cohorts. In Seniors-ENRICA, there was a tendency to lower risk of injurious falls among those consuming caffeinated coffee (HR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.68, 1.00 for 1 cup/d; HR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.64, 1.09 for ≥2 cups/d; P-trend = 0.09). No association was observed between caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee consumption and risk of falls with fracture.

CONCLUSIONS: Habitual coffee consumption was associated with lower risk of falling in older adults in Spain and the United Kingdom.

Copyright © American Society for Nutrition 2019.

Language: en

Keywords

Seniors-ENRICA; UK Biobank; coffee; cohort study; falls; older population