Coffee tied to lower stroke risk in women
DALLAS — Women who enjoy a daily dose of coffee may like this perk: It might lower their risk of stroke. Women in a Swedish study who drank at least a cup of coffee every day had a 22 to 25 percent lower risk of stroke, compared with those who drank less coffee or none at all.
“Coffee drinkers should rejoice,’’ said Dr. Sharonne N. Hayes, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “Coffee is often made out to be potentially bad for your heart. There really hasn’t been any study that convincingly said coffee is bad.’’
But doctors say the study should not send those who do not drink coffee running for a cup. The study does not prove that coffee lowers stroke risk, only that coffee drinkers tend to have a lower stroke risk.
“These sorts of epidemiological studies are compelling, but they don’t prove cause,’’ said Dr. David S. Seres, director of medical nutrition at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York.
The findings were published online yesterday in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.
Scientists have been studying coffee for years, trying to determine its risks and benefits.
The Swedish researchers led by Susanna Larsson at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm said previous studies on coffee consumption and strokes have had conflicting findings.
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