Several months ago, I posted my thoughts and some findings about coffee consumption and health. Now, the New England Journal of Medicine chimes in with the findings of a massive (400,000 subjects) study of coffee drinkers. The article is excerpted below.

"Association of Coffee Drinking with Total and Cause-Specific Mortality

Neal D. Freedman, Ph.D., Yikyung Park, Sc.D., Christian C. Abnet, Ph.D., Albert R. Hollenbeck, Ph.D., and Rashmi Sinha, Ph.D.

N Engl J Med 2012; 366:1891-1904 May 17, 2012

BACKGROUND

Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages, but the association between coffee consumption and the risk of death remains unclear.

METHODS

We examined the association of coffee drinking with subsequent total and cause-specific mortality among 229,119 men and 173,141 women in the National Institutes of Health–AARP Diet and Health Study who were 50 to 71 years of age at baseline. Participants with cancer, heart disease, and stroke were excluded..."

"Inverse associations were observed for deaths due to heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, injuries and accidents, diabetes, and infections, but not for deaths due to cancer. Results were similar in subgroups, including persons who had never smoked and persons who reported very good to excellent health at baseline.

CONCLUSIONS

In this large prospective study, coffee consumption was inversely associated with total and cause-specific mortality. Whether this was a causal or associational finding cannot be determined from our data. (Funded by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics.)

Supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics.

So, if you love coffee and have been worried about it's affect on your health, this should be reassuring. Perhaps we should offer a cup of coffee when you come to visit my Fort Myers plastic surgery center.