ABSTRACT

The effect of coffee consumption on functional disability has been scarcely investigated. Thus, this study aimed to examine the association between coffee consumption and functional disability in older American adults. Participants (≥ 60 years old, N = 7,704) were from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007-2016. Coffee consumption was assessed through two 24-h dietary recall interviews. Five domains of functional disability including lower-extremity mobility (LEM), general physical activity (GPA), leisure and social activities (LSA), activities of daily living (ADL), and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) were self-reported. Aged and multivariate adjusted logistic regression models and restricted cubic splines analyses were used. Total coffee consumption was inversely associated with LEM, GPA, LSA, and IADL disability. Compared with non-drinkers of total coffee, those who consumed ≥2 cups/day total coffee had lower odds of reporting disability of LEM (OR:0.67, 95%CI: 0.50-0.91), GPA (OR:0.65, 95%CI: 0.47-0.88), LSA (OR:0.61, 95%CI: 0.45-0.83) and IADL (OR:0.59, 95%CI: 0.44-0.78). These relationships were confirmed by the dose-response analyses. Intake of ≥2 cups/day caffeinated coffee was also inversely linked to the disability of GPA (OR: 0.67, 95%CI: 0.48-0.92), LSA (OR: 0.66, 95%CI: 0.46-0.93) and IADL (OR: 0.57, 95%CI:0.43-0.75,). While the inverse association of 2+ cups/day decaffeinated coffee was only on LEM (OR:0.43, 95%CI:0.23-0.81) and LSA (OR:0.39, 95%CI:0.16-0.94) disability. The present study suggested that coffee consumption was inversely associated with functional disability in older American adults. Those associations of diverse coffee types differed across domains of functional disability. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings.