For the study, researchers from the Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health in Boston looked into medical records of over 83,000 women who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study between 1980 and 2004.

 

When the study began, none of the participants had a history of stroke, heart disease, diabetes or cancer. During the study period, nearly 2,300 strokes occurred. More than half were ischemic strokes, which follow blood vessel blockage.

 

The researchers found that 84 percent of the women consumed at least some caffeinated coffee. Also, half drank decaffeinated coffee, 78 percent drank tea and 54 percent drank caffeinated sodas.

 

After considering factors such as cigarette and alcohol use, the researchers found that healthy women who consumed two to three cups of caffeinated coffee a day had, on average, a 19 percent lower risk for any kind of stroke compared to women who drank less than one cup a month. Furthermore, drinking four or more cups a day lowered risk by 20 percent.

 

“Many people have been very concerned that coffee might actually be a risk factor for stroke, that it might, in fact, increase the risk of stroke. But here we saw that it might end up being beneficial rather than detrimental,” said the study's co-author, Rob M. van Dam, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston.

 

However, this study should not serve as an impulse to indulge in coffee drinking, the researchers caution. Physical activity, lowering salt intake and smoking cessation would be better ways of preventing strokes.