Is sitting for a long time no longer a problem? The latest study reveals that drinking coffee may reduce the risk of death from sitting for a long time!

Sitting for long periods of time and lack of exercise have become the norm for "office workers". Epidemiological surveys have shown that in the general population, sitting for long periods of time is associated with increased all-cause mortality and is related to outcomes such as cancer, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.

Currently, coffee has become one of the most consumed beverages for many office workers. Coffee is rich in bioactive substances such as caffeine, phenolic compounds and minerals, has a wide range of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, and has been shown to improve insulin resistance and glucose metabolism. There is increasing evidence that drinking coffee can significantly reduce the incidence and mortality of chronic diseases due to its powerful antioxidant properties; cohort studies around the world have shown that drinking coffee is associated with a lower mortality rate from all causes and cardiovascular diseases.

Since sedentary behavior and coffee drinking are becoming more common and are independently associated with the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality, can coffee drinking offset the harm of sedentary behavior in sedentary people?

On April 17, 2024, researchers from Soochow University School of Medicine published a research paper titled "Association of daily sitting time and coffee consumption with all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality risk among American adults" in the journal BMC Public Health. The study aims to evaluate the independent and joint associations of daily sitting time and coffee intake with all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality among American adults.

In this study, researchers analyzed 10,639 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cohort. Their coffee intake and self-reported daily sitting time were collected through a dietary questionnaire. They analyzed the association between sitting time and coffee intake and all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality.

The participants' answers on daily sedentary time were converted into hours (h/d) and divided into four categories (0-4, 4-6, 6-8, and ≥ 8 h/d). Coffee consumers were divided into three groups according to coffee consumption (g/d), and non-consumers were included as an additional category. Therefore, there were four groups: (1) no coffee intake; (2) <326 g/d; (3) 326-540 g/d; (4) ≥ 540 g/d.

The findings suggest that drinking coffee may reduce the harmful effects of a long day of sitting .

In this survey, 52.1% of adults were coffee consumers and 48% reported sitting for more than 6 h/d. Overall, 23% of adults reported not drinking coffee and sitting for more than 6 h/d. Among the 10,639 participants in the study cohort, 945 deaths occurred, of which 284 participants died of cardiovascular disease during the 13-year follow-up period. Multivariate models showed that those who sat for more than 8 h/d had a higher risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality compared with those who sat for less than 4 h/d. In addition, the study observed that people with the highest coffee consumption had lower all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality compared with non-coffee consumers.

Notably, the association between prolonged sitting and increased mortality was only present in non-coffee drinkers and was not observed in coffee drinkers. For non-coffee drinkers, prolonged sitting time was associated with increased all-cause mortality, whereas for those with the highest coffee intake, prolonged sitting time was not associated with all-cause mortality.

At the same time, studies also show that drinking coffee can significantly reduce the risk of cancer recurrence and death!

In February 2024, the latest study published in IJC introduced a new health benefit of coffee - reducing the risk of recurrence and all-cause mortality of colorectal cancer (CRC). Specifically, drinking more than 4 cups of coffee a day reduces the risk of CRC recurrence by 32%, and as long as you drink coffee, you can reduce the risk of all-cause mortality in CRC patients. This is consistent with previous research results, which show that drinking 3 to 5 cups a day is optimal; when drinking 4 cups of coffee a day, the risk of all-cause mortality in CRC patients is minimized.

Given that the health benefits of coffee are increasingly being proven, for office workers who sit for long periods of time, drinking more coffee may be a way to stay healthy.