Coffee: deadly in excess

Study links excessive coffee drinking to increased risk of premature death

Drinking more than four cups of coffee a day may increase the risk of premature death, a study finds.

For the study, published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, researchers analyzed questionnaires filled out by 43,727 people ages 20 to 87 between 1979 and 1998, according to The Huffington Post. Researchers found that those under 55 years old who reported drinking more than 28 cups of coffee a week were more likely to die over the study period. Oddly, the study did not find an association between overconsumption of coffee and increased risk of premature death among those over age 55.

The study did not account for factors like the difference between drinking decaf and regular coffee, or how much cream and sugar drinkers added to their coffee.