Coffee is one of the most popular drinks worldwide. A new study tells how consuming caffeine can significantly lower the risk of Parkinson’s disease in individuals.
Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative condition affecting memory and cognitive functions, in which the effects on people’s brains get worse over time, but the condition usually takes time.
It is still unclear what causes the illness. Several experts and researchers believe it happens due to genetic and environmental factors.
Currently, there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease. Hence, the focus should be on how to lower the risk, specifically among those who are genetically at higher risk.
Researchers of the latest study, published in Neurology in the month of April, analysed data collected on 184,024 individuals across an average of 13 years.
According to the international team of researchers, coffee consumers had a lower risk of getting Parkinson’s as compared to those who didn’t drink coffee at all.
The researchers further analysed the samples of hundreds of Parkinson’s patients and examined levels of the key metabolites caffeine, paraxanthine, and theophylline in the blood, revealing an inverse relationship with the likelihood of developing Parkinson’s.
In their published paper, the researchers wrote, “This study demonstrated an inverse association of caffeinated coffee consumption with the risk of Parkinson’s disease in one of the largest longitudinal cohorts worldwide with more than 20 years of follow-up.”
“These neuroprotective effects align with our findings, which revealed an inverse association between caffeine, paraxanthine, and theophylline and the incidence of Parkinson’s disease,” the researchers further wrote.
This is not the first study that has connected the consumption of caffeine to Parkinson’s condition. A study published last November in the journal The Lancet said that drinking tea and coffee containing caffeine can significantly reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease in Asian individuals who are genetically at higher risk. The study was from the National Neuroscience Institute in Singapore.
(With inputs from agencies)
