By Staff Writer (media@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Jul 31, 2015 06:04 AM EDT

Drinking too much coffee might lead to Alzheimer’s Disease and other cognitive diseases. A new study showed that there is a link between increase in coffee intake and brain impairment.

Delhi Daily News reported that a recent study observed the connection between coffee consumption and the development of mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

1,445 people aged 64 to 84 years old participated in the study which lasted 3.5 years.

Researchers discovered that drinking more coffee increased the risk of MCI over time.

Cognitive impairment or MCI is described as a mental condition where patients show difficulty in various cognitive tasks like making decisions, learning, memorizing and focusing. It is known as an early sign of dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease, CBS Local reported.

The experts also realized that older people with good cognitive health but modified their coffee consumption by drinking more than one cup each day were twice as likely to develop MCI compared to those who took less than one cup of coffee daily.

Those who increased their coffee consumption were also 1.5 times more likely to develop MCI compared to those who only took one cup of coffee each day or in constant amounts.

However, people who drank one to two cups of coffee daily or moderately, showed a reduced likelihood of developing MCI, compared to individuals who never or rarely drink coffee.

“These findings from the Italian Longitudinal Study on Ageing suggested that cognitively normal older individuals who never or rarely consumed coffee and those who increased their coffee consumption habits had a higher risk of developing MCI,” said Francesco Panza, one of the researchers from the University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.

The researchers concluded that moderate and regular consumption of coffee may have neuro-protective effects against MCI as well.

Previous studies have confirmed that there are long-term protective effects that caffeine can provide to battle dementia and cognitive problems.

The study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, with the findings suggesting that moderate consumption of coffee leads to long-term protective benefits against cognitive problems, compared to high consumption.

In May 2015, a PLOS ONE study also showed that men who drank two to three cups of coffee daily would reduce the chances of prevalent erectile dysfunction among men.

The beneficial effect was also applicable among overweight and obese men, but not in diabetic individuals. Other studies have shown other health benefits derived from regular caffeine consumption.

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