Is coffee good or bad for you?

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1. 1

   Coffee consumption and health: umbrella review of meta-analyses of multiple health outcomes

   BMJ (Poole et al.)Published Nov 22, 2017Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “The umbrella review identified 201 meta-analyses of observational research with 67 unique health outcomes and 17 meta-analyses of interventional research with nine unique outcomes. Coffee consumption was more often associated with benefit than harm for a range of health outcomes across exposures including high versus low, any versus none, and one extra cup a day. There was evidence of a non-linear association between consumption and some outcomes, with summary estimates indicating largest relative risk reduction at intakes of three to four cups a day versus none, including all cause mortality (relative risk 0.83, 95% confidence interval 0.83 to 0.88), cardiovascular mortality (0.81, 0.72 to 0.90), and cardiovascular disease (0.85, 0.80 to 0.90). High versus low consumption was associated with an 18% lower risk of incident cancer (0.82, 0.74 to 0.89). Coffee consumption seems generally safe within usual levels of intake, with summary estimates indicating largest risk reduction for various health outcomes at three to four cups a day, and more likely to benefit health than harm. Robust randomised controlled trials are needed to understand whether the observed associations are causal.”

2. 2

   The impact of coffee subtypes on incident cardiovascular disease, arrhythmias, and mortality: long-term outcomes from the UK Biobank

   European Journal of Preventive Cardiology (Chieng et al.)Published Aug 25, 2022Checked Sep 30, 2026

   “A total of 449 563 participants (median 58 years, 55.3% females) were followed over 12.5 ± 0.7 years. Ground and instant coffee consumption was associated with a significant reduction in arrhythmia at 1-5 cups/day but not for decaffeinated coffee. The lowest risk was 4-5 cups/day for ground coffee [HR 0.83, confidence interval (CI) 0.76-0.91, P < 0.0001] and 2-3 cups/day for instant coffee (HR 0.88, CI 0.85-0.92, P < 0.0001). All coffee subtypes were associated with a reduction in incident CVD (the lowest risk was 2-3 cups/day for decaffeinated, P = 0.0093; ground, P < 0.0001; and instant coffee, P < 0.0001) vs. non-drinkers. All-cause mortality was significantly reduced for all coffee subtypes, with the greatest risk reduction seen with 2-3 cups/day for decaffeinated (HR 0.86, CI 0.81-0.91, P < 0.0001); ground (HR 0.73, CI 0.69-0.78, P < 0.0001); and instant coffee (HR 0.89, CI 0.86-0.93, P < 0.0001). Decaffeinated, ground, and instant coffee, particularly at 2-3 cups/day, were associated with significant reductions in incident CVD and mortality. Ground and instant but not decaffeinated coffee was associated with reduced arrhythmia.”

3. 3

   Coffee, caffeine, and cardiovascular health: navigating risks and benefits-an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

   BMC cardiovascular disorders (Shaban et al.)Published May 7, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “Studies were included if they examined the effects of coffee on any CVD and reported the associations in terms of the hazard ratio (HR), relative risk (RR), or odds ratio (OR). Moreover, quality appraisal was conducted using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale for cohort studies and the Joanna Briggs Institute tool for case-control studies.ResultsAfter exclusions, 38 studies involving 2,856,002 participants were reviewed and analyzed. The pooled analysis showed no significant associations between coffee consumption and total CHDs or HF, when comparing the highest and lowest coffee consumption categories (HR: 0.98; p = 0.80 and HR: 1.03; p = 0.62, respectively). In contrast, the pooled results showed a significant positive association between higher coffee consumption and the risk of developing MI (OR: 1.48; p ConclusionHigher coffee intake might increase the risk of MI, but can also offer protective effects against stroke and cardiac arrhythmias. Moreover, higher caffeine intake can reduce the risk of CVD mortality in hypertensive patients.Clinical trial registrationPROSPERO: CRD420251073620.”

4. 4

   Coffee Consumption and Mortality From All Causes, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis

   American Journal of Epidemiology (Crippa et al.)Published Aug 24, 2014Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “Pertinent studies, published between 1966 and 2013, were identified by searching PubMed and by reviewing the reference lists of the selected articles. Prospective studies in which investigators reported relative risks of mortality from all causes, CVD, and all cancers for 3 or more categories of coffee consumption were eligible. Results from individual studies were pooled using a random-effects model. Twenty-one prospective studies, with 121,915 deaths and 997,464 participants, met the inclusion criteria. There was strong evidence of nonlinear associations between coffee consumption and mortality for all causes and CVD (P for nonlinearity < 0.001). The largest risk reductions were observed for 4 cups/day for all-cause mortality (16%, 95% confidence interval: 13, 18) and 3 cups/day for CVD mortality (21%, 95% confidence interval: 16, 26). Coffee consumption was not associated with cancer mortality. Findings from this meta-analysis indicate that coffee consumption is inversely associated with all-cause and CVD mortality.”

5. 5

   Caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee consumption and risk of all‐cause mortality: a dose–response meta‐analysis of cohort studies

   Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics (Li et al.)Published Feb 20, 2019Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “We included 21 cohort study articles (10 103 115 study participants and 240 303 deaths). We found a nonlinear association between coffee consumption and all‐cause mortality (Pnonlinearity < 0.001). Compared with no or rare coffee consumption, with a consumption of 3 cups day–1, the risk of all‐cause mortality might reduce 13% (RR = 0.87; 95% confidence interval = 0.84–0.89). The findings of the present study provide quantitative data suggesting that coffee consumption plays a role in reducing the risk of all‐cause mortality. Similar inverse associations are found for caffeinated coffee and decaffeinated coffee.”

6. 6

   Habitual coffee consumption and risk of incident heart failure: an updated systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.

   Journal of health, population, and nutrition (Biswas et al.)Published Mar 17, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “Certainty of evidence was assessed using GRADE.ResultsThirteen studies comprising 656,666 participants and 20,646 HF events were identified. Pooled analysis of 7 independent cohorts demonstrated that moderate coffee consumption (2-4 cups/day) was associated with significantly reduced HF risk (HR 0.925; 95% CI 0.882-0.971; P = 0.002) with negligible heterogeneity (I²=0%). A J-shaped dose-response pattern was suggested, although the test for non-linearity was borderline significant (P = 0.066), with maximal benefit observed at 1-2 cups/day. Within-cohort analyses indicated similar associations for caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee. No evidence of publication bias was detected (Egger's P = 0.99). Certainty of evidence was rated as low.ConclusionsThis updated meta-analysis suggests moderate coffee consumption is linked to lower incident heart failure risk, though certainty is low. Associations observed within-cohort analyses were similar for caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, indicating moderate intake may be compatible within heart-healthy dietary patterns.Review registration(PROSPERO Registration ID: CRD420251269118).”