Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia globally. It is characterised by memory loss, cognitive impairment, and a gradual inability to perform daily tasks independently. The condition is most prevalent in
people over 65 years of age. As Alzheimer’s is an incurable condition with limited treatment options available, early prevention is crucial. A possible pathway of prevention that has been receiving an increasing amount of attention is through coffee and tea. An example of this is the examination of a possible pathway between caffeine intake and dementia risk; however, findings so far have been inconsistent. In a study published in February 2026 in The Journal of the American Medical Association, Yu Zhang and colleagues measured the association between caffeinated coffee and tea intake and Alzheimer’s risk and cognitive function. They found that greater consumption of coffee and tea was associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s and moderately better cognitive function.
To observe the effects of caffeinated tea and coffee on Alzheimer’s risk and cognitive function, the study utilised data from two US-based cohort studies, the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS), with a total of 131,821 participants being included. In both cohorts, participants were excluded if they had a history of Parkinson’s disease, dementia, or cancer, or had missing intake for caffeinated beverages. Caffeine intake was determined through food frequency questionnaires, and Alzheimer’s was identified through death records and self-reported physician diagnoses. Cognitive decline was determined through questionnaires. Data was pooled as part of the analysis. Within the pooled analyses, participants with the highest caffeinated coffee intake (4.5 cups a day in NHS, and 2.5 in HPFS) compared to participants with the lowest caffeinated coffee intake (0 in both NHS and HPFS), higher intake was associated with 18% lower hazard ratio for Alzheimer’s risk and a 1.7% lower prevalence of subjective cognitive decline. Similarly, the highest caffeinated tea intake (one cup per day in NHS, 0.79 in HPFS) was associated with a 14% lower hazard ratio for Alzheimer’s risk compared to the lowest caffeinated tea intake (0 in both NHS and HPFS).
This study by Zhang and colleagues provides evidence that the intake of caffeinated coffee and tea could be a protective factor for Alzheimer’s development. This could be through several pathways. One explanation is that caffeine lowers brain inflammatory cytokines and mitigates neuroinflammation. An alternative pathway is through the antioxidative compounds present in coffee and tea besides caffeine. These findings highlight the role coffee and tea can play in disease development, independent of genetic risk factors. However, more research is needed to establish a causal pathway.
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GlobalData epidemiologists forecast that in the eight major markets (8MM: US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Japan, and China), the total prevalent cases of Alzheimer’s will increase from 17.4 million cases in 2026 to 22.5 million cases in 2033. Therefore, prevention strategies incorporating factors such as caffeine intake could be important tools in reducing the considerable disease burden of the illness.
