Harvard Health Content API

Coffee can help to wake you up – and now a study suggests it might help you live longer, too. The study included more than 400,000 adults. They were followed for 13 years. Those who regularly drank coffee – even decaf – had slightly lower death rates than those who didn’t. For example, women who drank 2 or 3 cups a day had a death rate that was 13% lower than women who didn’t drink coffee. The lower death rates were found only after researchers adjusted for the fact that coffee drinkers were more likely to smoke. Coffee drinkers were less likely to have heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, stroke and infections. The study appeared in the May 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The Associated Press wrote about it.

A screening test called CT colonography is almost as good as identifying possible cancers as traditional colonoscopy is. Now, a study has found that people undergoing CT colonography may not need to take laxatives the day before. Harvard researchers did the study. It involved 605 people. Each had a CT scan without laxatives. About 5 weeks later, each had a traditional colonoscopy. The tests were equally accurate at finding polyps that were at least 1 centimeter in diameter. A polyp is a growth in the colon. Larger ones often become cancerous. Colonoscopy was better at finding smaller polyps, however. These also may become cancerous, and are usually removed during a colonoscopy. And if something suspicious is found during a CT scan, the person would then need a colonoscopy, too. The study was published in the May 15 Annals of Internal Medicine. CBS News reported on it.

Having a family history of high blood pressure doesn’t mean you’re helpless to stay heart healthy. A study from the American Heart Association journal Hypertension involved 6,278 adults. Most were Caucasian, and the majority were men. They were followed for about 5 years. During that time, 1,545 developed high blood pressure. Everyone in the study took a treadmill fitness test. Some people were considered “highly fit.” In that group, people with a family history of high blood pressure had only a 16% higher risk of high blood pressure, compared with people who had no family history.