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53/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 53 out of 100. Prevention and risk

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Caffeine has well-known short-term stimulating effects on central nervous system, but the long-term impacts on cognition have been less clear. Dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are rapidly increasing public health problems in ageing populations and at the moment curative treatment is lacking. Thus, the putative protective effects of caffeine against dementia/AD are of great interest. Here, we discuss findings from the longitudinal epidemiological studies about caffeine/coffee/tea and dementia/AD/cognitive functioning with a special emphasis on our recent results from the Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging and Dementia (CAIDE) study. The findings of the previous studies are somewhat inconsistent, but most studies (3 out of 5) support coffee's favorable effects against cognitive decline, dementia or AD. In addition, two studies had combined coffee and tea drinking and indicated some positive effects on cognitive functioning. For tea drinking, protective effects against cognitive decline/dementia are still less evident. In the CAIDE study, coffee drinking of 3-5 cups per day at midlife was associated with a decreased risk of dementia/AD by about 65% at late-life. In conclusion, coffee drinking may be associated with a decreased risk of dementia/AD. This may be mediated by caffeine and/or other mechanisms like antioxidant capacity and increased insulin sensitivity. This finding might open possibilities for prevention or postponing the onset of dementia/AD.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Eskelinen, M. H., & Kivipelto, M. (2010). Caffeine as a protective factor in dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-2010-1404

Vancouver

Eskelinen MH, Kivipelto M. Caffeine as a protective factor in dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. 2010. doi:10.3233/jad-2010-1404. PMID: 20182054.

BibTeX

@article{eskelinen2010-20182054,
  author  = {Eskelinen, M. H. and Kivipelto, M.},
  title   = {{Caffeine as a protective factor in dementia and Alzheimer's disease}},
  journal = {Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD},
  year    = {2010},
  doi     = {10.3233/jad-2010-1404},
  pmid    = {20182054},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-2010-1404}
}

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Key findings

Here, we discuss findings from the longitudinal epidemiological studies about caffeine/coffee/tea and dementia/AD/cognitive functioning with a special emphasis on our recent results from the Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging and Dementia (CAIDE) study.
In the CAIDE study, coffee drinking of 3-5 cups per day at midlife was associated with a decreased risk of dementia/AD by about 65% at late-life.
In conclusion, coffee drinking may be associated with a decreased risk of dementia/AD.

Why it matters

This review of longitudinal studies reports that most studies supported favorable effects of coffee against cognitive decline, dementia, or Alzheimer's disease, and in the CAIDE study midlife coffee drinking was linked to lower later risk. It is about associations, not proof that caffeine prevents or treats dementia.

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Study details

Study designlongitudinal study
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 53/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD)
Journal's citation record	2 / 4	Journal of Alzheimer s Disease: journal h-index 218 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	7 / 12	A longitudinal study following the same people over time
Strength of evidence	3 / 5	Rated “moderate” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	1 / 5	2010 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	0 / 4	Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Effect reported	0 / 3	No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Studied in people	0 / 3	Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 259 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	14.4 citations a year over 18 year(s) since 2010
Impact for its field and year	4 / 6	Cited 8.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	1 / 6	Cited by 2 other studies in this library
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 43 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	4 / 4	Last-listed author Miia Kivipelto: h-index 107 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	1 / 3	Karolinska Institutet: institution h-index 1,477 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 2 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 20182054)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	53 / 100	—

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