The Study
Associations of Individual Beverage Types and Substitution with Dementia Risk: A UK Biobank Cohort Study
This study watched what people drank over many years and noticed that those who drank more sugary drinks tended to get dementia more often, while those who drank coffee or tea tended to get it less. But it didn’t make people change their drinks — so we can’t say the drinks themselves caused the difference.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
People who drank more than one sugary drink a day were more likely to get dementia later in life. Those who drank coffee or tea were less likely to get dementia.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 559 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — for someone who drinks a daily soda, switching to coffee or tea could cut their dementia risk by nearly one-fifth to one-quarter, especially if they have obesity or high blood pressure.
- 2Drinking more than 1 sugary drink a day = 61% higher dementia risk.
- 3Drinking 1 cup of coffee or tea a day = 37% or 34% lower dementia risk.
- 4Swapping one sugary drink for coffee = 23% lower risk.
- 5Swapping for tea = 19% lower risk.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging
Year
2025
Authors
Jung-Hwan Kim, Yu-Jin Kwon, Yaeji Lee, Tae-hwa Han, Mi Young Lim, Seok-Jae Heo, Ji-Won Lee
Related Content
Claims (9)
Observational studies cannot prove that drinking coffee causes changes in dementia risk.
People with hypertension who drink tea have a lower risk of developing dementia than those with hypertension who do not drink tea, with the lowest risk seen in those drinking up to one glass per day.
Adults aged 40–69 who drink more than one glass of sugar-sweetened beverages per day have a 61% higher rate of developing all-cause dementia over 13.45 years compared to those who drink less, even when accounting for age, sex, lifestyle, body weight, cholesterol, other health conditions, and genetic risk factors.
Adults aged 40–69 who drink more than one glass of coffee per day have a 24% lower rate of all-cause dementia compared to those who drink less, and those who drink up to one glass per day have a 37% lower rate, based on a 13.45-year observation period after accounting for age, sex, lifestyle, and genetic factors.
In adults aged 40–69, replacing one daily serving of sugar-sweetened beverages with coffee is linked to a 23% lower rate of all-cause dementia, and replacing it with tea is linked to a 19% lower rate, over a median follow-up of 13.45 years.
People who drink caffeinated coffee have a lower incidence of dementia compared to those who do not, while people who drink decaffeinated coffee show no difference in dementia incidence.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.