Abstract
Background: Worldwide, coffee is one of the most popular beverages consumed. Several studies have suggested a protective role of coffee, including reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, there is limited longitudinal data from cohorts of older adults reporting associations of coffee intake with cognitive decline, in distinct domains, and investigating the neuropathological mechanisms underpinning any such associations.Methods: The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between self-reported habitual coffee intake, and cognitive decline assessed using a comprehensive neuropsychological battery in 227 cognitively normal older adults from the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers, and Lifestyle (AIBL) study, over 126 months. In a subset of individuals, we also investigated the relationship between habitual coffee intake and cerebral Aβ-amyloid accumulation (n = 60) and brain volumes (n = 51) over 126 months.Results: Higher baseline coffee consumption was associated with slower cognitive decline in executive function, attention, and the AIBL Preclinical AD Cognitive Composite (PACC; shown reliably to measure the first signs of cognitive decline in at-risk cognitively normal populations), and lower likelihood of transitioning to mild cognitive impairment or AD status, over 126 months. Higher baseline coffee consumption was also associated with slower Aβ-amyloid accumulation over 126 months, and lower risk of progressing to “moderate,” “high,” or “very high” Aβ-amyloid burden status over the same time-period. There were no associations between coffee intake and atrophy in total gray matter, white matter, or hippocampal volume.Discussion: Our results further support the hypothesis that coffee intake may be a protective factor against AD, with increased coffee consumption potentially reducing cognitive decline by slowing cerebral Aβ-amyloid accumulation, and thus attenuating the associated neurotoxicity from Aβ-amyloid-mediated oxidative stress and inflammatory processes. Further investigation is required to evaluate whether coffee intake could be incorporated as a modifiable lifestyle factor aimed at delaying AD onset.
Highlights
Worldwide, a high proportion of adults drink coffee daily, making it one of the most popular beverages globally
Of the 51 participants included in the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) analysis, all were included in the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging analysis
Habitual coffee intake was positively associated with the cognitive domains of executive function (p < 0.01), attention (p < 0.05), and the AIBL PACC (p < 0.01), such that higher coffee consumption was associated with slower cognitive decline in these domains over 126 months (Table 2)
Summary
A high proportion of adults drink coffee daily, making it one of the most popular beverages globally. Several studies suggest a protective role of coffee, with reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD reported (van Gelder et al, 2007; Eskelinen et al, 2009; Arab et al, 2011; Liu et al, 2016; Wierzejska, 2017; Wu et al, 2017). There are limited longitudinal data from cohorts of cognitively normal older adults describing associations of coffee consumption with distinct domains of cognition, and concurrently investigating potential neuropathological mechanisms underpinning any such associations. Several studies have suggested a protective role of coffee, including reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). There is limited longitudinal data from cohorts of older adults reporting associations of coffee intake with cognitive decline, in distinct domains, and investigating the neuropathological mechanisms underpinning any such associations
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