#3-51E. Brewing Brain Health: Caffeine’s Role in Dementia Prevention (JAMA, 2026)

"Doctor, is my daily coffee habit good for my brain?" As the global burden of dementia rises, identifying modifiable risk factors through diet has become a critical clinical priority. A recent prospective cohort study published in JAMA, involving over 131,000 participants from the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study followed for up to 43 years, provides compelling new evidence on this topic. The researchers found that higher intake of caffeinated coffee and tea was significantly associated with a lower risk of incident dementia and better cognitive function, with the most pronounced benefit observed at moderate intakes of approximately 2 to 3 cups per day. Crucially, decaffeinated coffee did not demonstrate these protective effects, suggesting that caffeine, rather than other bioactive compounds in coffee, may be the primary neuroprotective agent. However, when critically appraising this study, physicians must note its observational design; despite rigorous adjustment for confounders, causality cannot be established, and results rely on self-reported dietary data which may introduce measurement error. Nevertheless, these findings offer valuable, long-term data that allow clinicians to reassure patients that moderate caffeinated beverage consumption is a safe and potentially beneficial component of a cognitive-preserving lifestyle.

Citation: Zhang Y, Liu Y, Li Y, et al. Coffee and Tea Intake, Dementia Risk, and Cognitive Function. JAMA. 2026. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2025.27259

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