There was a lot of bad news for coffee drinkers last week, especially those approaching venerable age. In two separate studies, four or more cups of coffee were associated with high blood pressure and heart disease, as well as cognitive decline in older people. Since then, we’ve decided to put all the bad coffee talk to the past week. It was a bad week, everyone has them. No need to dwell on it.
But it’s a recent day, and we’re getting back on track. A recent study has found a positive association between coffee consumption and skeletal muscle mass, which is especially good news for older people.
As reported Medical-News.netThe recent study is the work of scientists from Guangxi Medical University in Nanning, China, and was published in the journal In it, they examine muscle mass and coffee consumption in 8,333 Americans with an average age of 39.5. The work builds on previous research that has shown an association between coffee and skeletal muscle mass in populations in Asia.
Using participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey that took place between 2011 and 2018, muscle mass was determined using “BMI-adjusted appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASMBMI)” and participants’ coffee intake was determined using “two 24-hour dietary recall interviews.” Participants were then divided into quartiles and tertiles based on their intake.
After comparing the data, they found that people in the highest quartile of the ASMBMI—those with higher levels of skeletal muscle—had “higher average caffeine and coffee consumption than those in the lowest ASMBMI.” When looking at coffee consumption, people in quartile 4—those who drank the most coffee—were associated with a 13% escalate in the ASMBMI compared to their counterparts in quartile 1. Decaffeinated coffee showed no “significant association.”
These findings are particularly relevant for people with sarcopenia, a chronic disease that causes reduced skeletal muscle mass and function that primarily affects older people. Sarcopenia affects up to 40% of people aged 80 and older and can lead to “increased falls, fractures, and mortality.” Coffee, with its association with increased skeletal muscle mass, may facilitate reduce the effects of sarcopenia.
Your golden years don’t have to be your venerable age, at least not if you drink coffee.
