Coffee cuts suicide risk in half, say Harvard researchers

You know, the more we look into things that used to be bad for us, the more we see some benefits.

Source

A study by the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) concluded that drinking several cups of coffee a day could cut the risk of suicide by 50 percent in men and women. According to a report in the Harvard Gazette, researchers found that adults who drink two to four cups of caffeinated coffee per day were half as likely to commit suicide as those who didn’t.

At first glance it sounds silly right? How could you ever determine that?

Well if you look below, 10 years is a hell of a time and 204 thousand subjects is a lot of data to go through.

According to the Gazette, researchers followed three groups of volunteers for ten years from 1998 to 2008, including 43,599 male health care professionals and 164,825 women health workers. The subjects’ intake of coffee, caffeinated beverages and decaffeinated coffee was checked every four years via questionnaire.

The study included all caffeine intake, including sodas, chocolate and tea, but for at least 70 percent of respondents in each tested group, coffee was the main caffeine source. Among the 208,424 volunteers, 277 committed suicide.

Some very interesting stuff in that article.

Thoughts?

~Tenth

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Obvious conclusion to study is obvious. I think anyone who is not a morning person could tell you that coffee reduces your risk of suicide and helps you find the will to live

Any job I've had where I had to be at work in the morning was only held down because of the gift of coffee. Had it not been for that wonder beverage I would likely be living in a cardboard box

I'm surprised Big Pharma didn't squash this research. There are so many natural products that help us, without having to use the crap that comes out of the labs.

I wonder if coffee also makes you less hostile in general:

I wouldn't be against coffee actually causing the drop in suicide, but there is only correlation not causation here.

It could very well just be that people who drink a lot of coffee actually have something to do. They have jobs, families, stuff that needs to be done during the day, basically they have a reason to wake up in the morning.

People who don't drink coffee might not do so because they don't have a job, or a family, or anything going on in their lives, so they are more likely to commit suicide.

I'm not saying that IS what's happening, I'm just offering up an alternative view. I don't think there is really any evidence the coffee is actually stopping people from killing themselves.

reply to post by tothetenthpower


do you happen to have a link? looks interesting.

Originally posted by generik
reply to post by tothetenthpower

 

do you happen to have a link? looks interesting.

Here's one link

www.huffingtonpost.com...

Interesting...

Though im not sure that's entirely accurate...

More like coffee reduces murder and assault cases...

Just check out any drive through in the morning.... People on the incoming side are pissed and cranky, ready to kill... and after they get their coffee everything is all good

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Caffeine is a psychoactive stimulant, like meth, or crack. Stimulants generally improves your mood while getting you hooked. Ive known several people who have tried to kick a caffeine addiction and have been woefully unsuccessful. They even admit its an addiction that they, now, wont stop because they "need" it.

Looking at this study it doesnt look like a very good one... selecting people from only one industry (health care) and comparing their results to general population results is a potentially major accuracy blunder.

Also... they were checked ONCE every FOUR years? That doesnt really seem all that... comprehensive.

Originally posted by ionwind

I wonder if coffee also makes you less hostile in general:

Great pic... it really shows just what an addiction does to someone who hasnt had their fix that day, and is beginning to suffer severe withdrawal symptoms.

I remember crawling out of a sleeping bag covered in snow at four in the morning on a mountaintop in Korea.
All I could think of was getting a cup of coffee.
Otherwise I might have just ended it right there.
Yeah.
I buy it.

Sorry guys I forgot the link, I'll update the OP.

~Tenth

Originally posted by CaticusMaximus

beginning to suffer severe withdrawal symptoms.

I guess it depends on how much you drink. Everything in moderation, yeah?

Withdrawal symptoms – including headache, irritability, inability to concentrate, drowsiness, insomnia, and pain in the stomach, upper body, and joints – may appear within 12 to 24 hours after discontinuation of caffeine intake, peak at roughly 48 hours, and usually last from 2 to 9 days.

en.wikipedia.org...

Still, some prescription meds can cause seizures and much worse if you stop taking them.

Life isn't worth living if I had to give up coffee I think they have figured the whole thing backwards.

reply to post by tothetenthpower


So no wonder I have not committed suicide yet, right? I have been drinking coffee since childhood, the only side effect is that I actually developed HBP in my 30s, stop drinking coffee recently (switch to decaf) my blood pressure went down to normal. but now I may become suicidal, right?

Originally posted by ionwind
I'm surprised Big Pharma didn't squash this research. There are so many natural products that help us, without having to use the crap that comes out of the labs.

I wonder if coffee also makes you less hostile in general:

My daughter gets crabby if she drinks coffee on the job. She says her patients with the people she is training is compromised when she can think clearer. If she works alone she drinks coffee, if she is doing the training she doesn't. I know the feeling, I used to train workers. Most times it is way easier to do things yourself.

reply to post by CaticusMaximus

Just to be fair, its only an "addiction" when your repetitive behavior has negative consequences. The only negative consequence of drinking too much coffee is having to pee.

Well, I am still alive!

*sip*



When I wake up in the morning, I look forward to that cup of coffee. It is what motivates me out of bed and keeps me going though out the day. People can say it is addictive, and it is, but at the same time, the benefits far outweigh the negatives.

This report doesn't surprise me at all as it goes hand in hand with other reports that find that coffee reduces the risk of cancer, among other things.

Coffee is a choice, like beer or many other substances, all which have health risks and benefits.
But being one who has fought depression my entire life, I can say that this report follows along with my personal experience with coffee, it really does help to keep the blues away, and gives someone something to look forward to when nothing else seems to matter, a cup of coffee will.





*sip*

reply to post by tothetenthpower

This is silly.

There is absolutely no possible way for them to isolate every other factor in the lives of the 277 who committed suicide.

People will give credibility to this joke simply because the Harvard name is attached.

The only remaining question is, which one of these people has been funded by or was a consultant for Starbucks.

I can see the advertisements now, "drink coffee or you're dead".

Of-course you cant drink TOO much or that will kill you as well:

One large Finnish study showed a higher risk of suicide among people drinking eight or nine cups per day.

I think that study is a load of do da. People commit suicide for a variety of complex reasons. To do a sloppy study, as other posters have pointed out also, and come to such a ridiculous conclusion is bad science.

Coffee in the morning and alcohol in the evening
one of the drawbacks though is it really drops
your bodies alkalinity level, So eating lots of green
leafy veggies helps balance things out.
Ive managed to cut back to 6 cups a day