Coffee Consumption Linked to Stroke Risk

A new study suggests that women who consume little or no coffee may have an increased risk of stroke.

A stroke occurs when there is a sudden disruption in oxygen and blood flow to areas in the brain. Strokes develop very quickly, and may cause symptoms such as paralysis or numbness on one side of the body, speech problems and vision loss.

In 1997, researchers in Sweden and Finland began following 34,670 women with no history of heart disease or cancer. Self-assessment questionnaires were used to assess coffee consumption and incidents of stroke were derived from the Swedish Hospital Discharge Registry.

After an average follow-up of 10.4 years, 1,680 strokes were recorded, including 1,310 cerebral infarctions, 154 intracerebral hemorrhages, 79 subarachnoid hemorrhages and 137 unspecified strokes. After adjusting the data for other potential risk factors, the researchers found that coffee consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk of total strokes and all recorded stroke types except intracerebral hemorrhage. The lowest risk was seen for women who consumed 3 to 4 cups of coffee daily, with a relative risk of 0.75, while the highest was seen for women who consumed less than one cup per day, with a relative risk of 1.0.

The authors concluded that women who consume little or no coffee may have an increased risk of stroke. Additional studies are necessary to confirm these findings.

For more information about stroke risk, please visit Natural Standard's Health & Wellness database.

References

Larsson SC, Virtamo J, Wolk A. Coffee Consumption and Risk of Stroke in Women. Stroke. 2011 Mar. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.603787
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