There has been heated controversies over the potential negative health consequences of drinking the popular beverage coffee here in Syracuse. And so a recent report that women who drink coffee may actually have the health benefit of a reduced risk for a stroke has aroused the interest of the women of Syracuse.
EurekAlert has reported "Coffee drinking linked to reduced stroke risk in women", http://bit.ly/fe8sNW. This report which offers support for women here in Syracuse who feel coffee drinking can have health benefits has also been published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, http://bit.ly/hAzh6W.. Researchers have discovered that drinking more than a cup of coffee a day was associated with a 22 percent to 25 percent lower risk of stroke. In this study of 34,670 women (ages 49 to 83) followed for an average 10.4 years low or no coffee consumption was associated with an increased risk of stroke.
Many women here in Syracuse are not alone in liking coffee. Coffee has been found to be one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. Susanna Larsson, Ph.D., lead author of the study has said "Therefore, even small health effects of substances in coffee may have large public health consequences." The researchers reported that women who drank 1-2 cups per day, 3-4 cups per day or 5 or more cups per day had similar benefits compared with those who reported daily intake of less than a cup of coffee. It has been theorized by scientists that coffee could have either beneficial or harmful effects on the cardiovascular system, however earlier studies have been inconclusive.
The women in this study participated in the long-running Swedish Mammography Cohort, an epidemiological study investigating the association between diet, lifestyle and disease development. The researchers found 1,680 strokes: 1,310 cerebral infarctions/ischemic strokes (caused by blockages), 154 intracerebral hemorrhages (caused by bleeding inside the brain), 79 subarachnoid hemorrhages (caused by bleeding on the surface of the brain) and 137 unspecified strokes. Larsson said coffee consumption was associated with a statistically significant lower risk of total stroke, cerebral infarction and subarachnoid hemorrhage after adjusting for other risk factors. In general is has been found cerebral infarction is most strongly associated with dietary factors. This food frequency questionnaire made no distinction between regular and decaffeinated coffee.
When considering whether or not to enjoy some coffee in your diets women here in Syracuse and elsewhere may want to consider this study. Larsson has commented "Some women have avoided consuming coffee because they have thought it is unhealthy. In fact, increasing evidence indicates that moderate coffee consumption may decrease the risk of some diseases such as diabetes, liver cancer and possibly stroke."
Photographer: Sura Nualpradid
