There have been many studies on the effects of coffee consumption, which have showed both beneficial and detrimental health effects. Previous research has suggested that coffee may increase the sensitivity of the body to insulin or reduce the risk for some types of cancer, such as liver and colon. In a study published in a recent issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers reported that coffee intake does not increase the risk of death in either men or women.

Investigators from Harvard and their colleagues evaluated 41,736 men and 86.214 women with no history of cardiovascular disease or cancer at baseline. They measured coffee consumption every two years over a follow-up period of 18 to 24 years and found that, the risk for all-cause mortality (in other words, death from any cause) decreased as coffee intake increased. People who drank 6 or more cups of coffee every day had a lower risk of death (20% lower for men and 17% lower for women) than those who drank less than one cup per month. The researchers also found that consumption of decaffeinated coffee may be linked to a small decrease in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. However, they did not find any statistically significant relationship between coffee intake and the risk for cancer death.

This seems to be good news for dedicated coffee drinkers, but it's not known what substance in coffee is responsible for this decrease in all-cause mortality risk. The possible benefit of coffee consumption on cardiovascular disease-related death is also an intriguing avenue for further investigation.