Caffeine, Cognitive Functioning, and White Matter Lesions in the Elderly: Establishing Causality from Epidemiological Evidence
Open accessAbstract
The present study examines the epidemiological evidence for a causal relationship between caffeine consumption and cognitive deterioration in the elderly. Using a population of 641 elderly persons, we examined cognitive functioning, caffeine consumption, magnetic resonance imaging volumetrics, and other factors known to affect cognitive performance. Our findings demonstrate the association between caffeine consumption and lower cognitive change over time to be statistically significant for women only, taking into account multiple confounders, to be dose-dependent and temporarily related (caffeine consumption precedes cognitive change). Mean log transformed white matter lesion/cranial volume ratios were found to be significantly lower in women consuming more than 3 units of caffeine per day after adjustment for age (-1.23 SD=0.06) than in women consuming 2-3 units (-1.04 SD=0.04) or one unit or less (-1.04 SD=0.07, -35% in cm3 compared to low drinkers). This observation is coherent with biological assumptions that caffeine through adenosine is linked to amyloid accumulation and subsequently white matter lesion formation. The significant relationship observed between caffeine intake in women and lower cognitive decline is highly likely to be a true causal relationship and not a spurious association.
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Five recent cohort studies detected the association between caffeine and cognitive outcomes only among women or for specific exposures.
“while 5 recent studies detected this association only among women or for specific exposures [165,169,171-173]”
From Epidemiologic studies of modifiable factors associated with cognition and dementia: systematic review and meta-analysis (2014) · cites this paper as [171]
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- Authors
- Ritchie, K., Artero, S., Portet, F., Brickman, A., Muraskin, J., Beanino, E., Ancelin, M.-L., & Carrière, I.
- Affiliations
- Inserm (FR)
- Inserm, U888, Montpellier, France and University of Montpellier 1, Montpellier, France
- Columbia University Irving Medical Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Ritchie, Karen
- Venue
- Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2010-04-14
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- s1
- Pages
- S161-S166
- ISSN
- 1387-2877 (ISSN-L)
- 1875-8908
- PMC
- PMC2929398
- OpenAlex
- W1935997423
- Cited by
- 45
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 3.52
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Alzheimer s Disease (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Sanofi
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale
- Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale
- Fondation de France
- Mutuelle Générale de l'Education Nationale
- National Institute on Aging (R01AG034189)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Coffee research and impacts
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Parkinson's Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
- Keywords
- caffeine consumption, cognitive decline
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Central Nervous System Stimulants, Brain, Caffeine, Cognition Disorders, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Nerve Fibers, Myelinated, Residence Characteristics, Retrospective Studies, Sex Factors, Geriatric Assessment
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