Drinking coffee in the morning may help you live longer rather than having it throughout the day, a new study published in the European Heart Journal has revealed.

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The study was conducted by Dr. Lu Qi, a professor at the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University, New Orleans, US. He said the purpose of this study was to find a link, if any, between the time of day when you consume coffee and the impact on overall heart health.

How was the study conducted?

To conduct the study, the researchers analysed food habits of 40,725 adults who took part in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 1999 and 2018. Of these participants, a sub-group of 1,463 people was asked to consume a detailed food and drink diary for a full week.

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As part of the survey, the participants were asked to fill details about all the food and drink they consumed on at least one day, including whether they drank coffee, how much and when.

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With all this information, the researchers analysed the data of deaths and cause of death over a period of nine to 10 years.

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Findings

The analysis revealed that those who consumed coffee in morning were 16 per cent less likely to die of any cause and 31 per cent less likely to die of cardiovascular disease.

On the other hand, no reduction in risk was observed for all-day coffee drinkers compared to non-coffee drinkers.

“This study doesn't tell us why drinking coffee in the morning reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. A possible explanation is that consuming coffee in the afternoon or evening may disrupt circadian rhythms and levels of hormones such as melatonin. This, in turn, leads to changes in cardiovascular risk factors such as inflammation and blood pressure,” said Qi.

(With inputs from agencies)