Drink up! Extra cup of coffee may slash your prostate cancer risk

Drinking several cups of coffee each day may be linked to a lower risk of developing prostate cancer, a new study has found.

Published Tuesday in the online journal BMJ Open, the study found each additional daily cup of the brew was associated with a reduction in relative risk of nearly 1 per cent, and a high coffee consumption cuts your prostate cancer risk by 9 per cent.

In Australia, prostate cancer kills more people than breast cancer. According to Cancer Council Australia, prostate cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in Australian men (after lung cancer), and the third most common cause of cancer death (after lung and bowel cancer).

For the study, researchers looked at databases for relevant cohort studies published up to September 2020. Fifteen reported on the risk of prostate cancer associated with the highest compared with the lowest coffee consumption; while 13 reported on the risk associated with an additional daily cup.

The highest level of consumption ranged from two to nine or more cups a day, while the lowest level ranged from none to fewer than two cups a day.

Based off the studies, the researchers found that compared with the lowest category of coffee consumption, the highest category was associated with a reduction in prostate cancer risk of 9 per cent. They also discovered each additional daily cup was associated with a reduction in risk of 1 per cent.

“This study suggests that increased coffee consumption may be associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer,” the study’s authors said. “Further research is still warranted to explore the underlying mechanisms and active compounds in coffee.

“If the association is further proved to be a causal effect, men might be encouraged to increase their coffee consumption to potentially decrease the risk of prostate cancer.”

This isn’t the first study to highlight coffee’s health benefits. Consumption of the brew has previously been linked to a lower relative risk of liver, bowel and breast cancers, and a study published in the online journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care in October 2020 found drinking two or more cups was associated with a 63 per cent lower risk of death over a period of five years.

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your personal health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalised health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.