Overview
- Researchers compared self‑reported dominant coffee type and intake in about 49,414 UK Biobank participants to three established aging biomarkers.
- Filter coffee was associated with more favorable aging markers, including longer telomeres, while instant coffee showed associations with less favorable markers.
- Additional tests found links with blood measures tied to inflammation and kidney function (GlycA and Cystatin C) and with basal metabolic rate that may partly explain the differences.
- Associations were strongest for people drinking more than three cups of instant coffee per day, especially men, adults over 60 and smokers, and strongest for heavy filter‑coffee drinkers among men.
- The study is observational, relies on self‑reported intake, and shows small effect sizes (instant coffee roughly 0.1–0.2 years of faster aging), so replication and causal or interventional studies are needed before changing advice.