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A new study found a striking dose–response: the more coffee older adults drank, the lower their odds of frailty.

This study examined associations of current habitual and midlife coffee consumption with risk of (pre-)frailty in 1161 community-dwelling older adults (≥ 55 years) participating in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam.Habitual and retrospectively assessed midlife (ages 40–65) coffee consumption was measured using questionnaires and divided into five categories (no coffee, > 0–2, > 2–4, > 4–6, > 6 cups/day). Frailty status was assessed using Fried’s five-component frailty phenotype. Generalized estimating equations, Cox proportional hazards models, and logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the associations of coffee consumption with frailty and pre-frailty prevalence, and the 3- and 7-year incidence of (pre)frailty.Habitual coffee consumption of > 4–6 and > 6 cups/day was associated with lower odds of frailty compared with consumption of > 0–2 cups/day (ORs (95%CI) of 0.36 (0.16–0.82) and 0.37 (0.16–0.84), respectively). Similar but statistically non-significant associations were found for coffee consumption during midlife and between habitual coffee consumption and the 3- and 7-year incidence of frailty, except for a statistically significant lower hazard (HR: 0.41 [95%CI 0.23–0.71]) of frailty after 7 years for the consumption of > 2–4 cups/day compared to > 0–2 cups/day. No associations were found between coffee consumption and pre-frailty, with the exception of lower odds for those who consumed > 2–4 cups/day compared to > 0–2 cups/day (OR 0.73 [95%CI 0.54–0.99])The results of this study indicate that higher habitual coffee consumption is associated with lower odds of frailty. Further research is needed to confirm our findings and investigate possible underlying mechanisms by which coffee might influence frailty development.

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