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The neuroprotective effects of caffeine: a prospective population study (the Three City Study)
Ritchie K, Carrière I, de Mendonca A, Portet F, Dartigues JF, Rouaud O, Barberger-Gateau P, Ancelin ML.. Neurology, 2007-08-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objective To examine the association between caffeine intake, cognitive decline, and incident dementia in a community-based sample of subjects aged 65 years and over. Methods Participants were 4,197 women and 2,820 men from a population-based cohort recruited from three French cities. Cognitive performance, clinical diagnosis of dementia, and caffeine consumption were evaluated at baseline and at 2 and 4 year follow-up. Results Caffeine consumption is associated with a wide range of sociodemographic, lifestyle, and clinical variables which may also affect cognitive decline. Multivariate mixed models and multivariate adjusted logistic regression indicated that women with high rates of caffeine consumption (over three cups per day) showed less decline in verbal retrieval (OR = 0.67, CI = 0.53, 0.85), and to a lesser extent in visuospatial memory (OR = 0.82, CI = 0.65, 1.03) over 4 years than women consuming one cup or less. The protective effect of caffeine was observed to increase with age (OR = 0.73, CI = 0.53, 1.02 in the age range 65 to 74; OR = 0.3, CI = 0.14, 0.63 in the range 80+). No relation was found between caffeine intake and cognitive decline in men. Caffeine consumption did not reduce dementia risk over 4 years. Conclusions The psychostimulant properties of caffeine appear to reduce cognitive decline in women without dementia, especially at higher ages. Although no impact is observed on dementia incidence, further studies are required to ascertain whether caffeine may nonetheless be of potential use in prolonging the period of mild cognitive impairment in women prior to a diagnosis of dementia.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Ritchie, K., Carrière, I., de Mendonca, A., Portet, F., Dartigues, J. F., Rouaud, O., et al. (2007). The neuroprotective effects of caffeine: a prospective population study (the Three City Study). Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000266670.35219.0c
Vancouver
Ritchie K, Carrière I, de Mendonca A, Portet F, Dartigues JF, Rouaud O, et al. The neuroprotective effects of caffeine: a prospective population study (the Three City Study). Neurology. 2007. doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000266670.35219.0c. PMID: 17679672.
BibTeX
@article{ritchie2007-17679672,
author = {Ritchie, K. and Carrière, I. and de Mendonca, A. and Portet, F. and Dartigues, J. F. and Rouaud, O. and Barberger-Gateau, P. and Ancelin, M. L.},
title = {{The neuroprotective effects of caffeine: a prospective population study (the Three City Study)}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2007},
doi = {10.1212/01.wnl.0000266670.35219.0c},
pmid = {17679672},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000266670.35219.0c}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Results Caffeine consumption is associated with a wide range of sociodemographic, lifestyle, and clinical variables which may also affect cognitive decline.
- Multivariate mixed models and multivariate adjusted logistic regression indicated that women with high rates of caffeine consumption (over three cups per day) showed less decline in verbal retrieval (OR = 0.67, CI = 0.53, 0.85), and to a lesser extent in visuospatial memory (OR = 0.82, CI = 0.65, 1.03) over 4 years than women consuming one cup or less.
Why it matters
Women who drank more than three cups of coffee a day showed less decline in verbal retrieval over four years, but no such link was found in men. Caffeine consumption did not reduce dementia risk over the four years of the study.
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Study details
- Effect sizeOR = 0.67; OR = 0.82; OR = 0.73
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 56/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neurology: journal h-index 525 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 | 2007 — 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 | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| 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 | 6 / 7 | Cited 346 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 16.5 citations a year over 21 year(s) since 2007 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 11.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 6 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 23 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Marie‐Laure Ancelin: h-index 63 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Inserm: institution h-index 1,988 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | PubMed indexes it as a multicentre study |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 17679672) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 56 / 100 | — |
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