Study: Moderate alcohol or coffee consumption aids longevity

Researchers from the Clinic for Aging Research and Education (CARE) in California have found that moderate consumption of alcohol or coffee has the potential to help humans live longer.

This information was gathered from respondents in the 90+ Study.

The study, which started in 1981, aims to uncover the secrets behind longevity, the decline in cognitive abilities and memory loss in people in their 90s, and the essential brain difference in those who have dementia.

It gathers information from its 14,000 respondents by sending surveys to residents of Leisure World, a large retirement community in Orange County, California.

Also, participants are given a series of cognitive and physical tests to determine how well people in this age group are functioning.

Researchers found that people who drank a moderate amount of alcohol or coffee lived longer than their counterparts who abstained and that people who were overweight in their 70s lived longer than normal or underweight people did.

It was also discovered that over 40% of people aged 90 and under suffer from dementia while almost 80% were disabled.

Researchers found that both are more common in women than men.

Also, about half of people with dementia over age 90 were found not to have enough neuropathology in their brain to explain their cognitive loss.