Yet another reason to drink coffee: A new study suggests it can be good for the complexion.
Researchers studied the effect of coffee drinking on the risk for rosacea, a chronic skin disease that causes facial redness in about 5 percent of the population.
The scientists used data on 82,737 women participating in a large health study between 1991 and 2005. The study collected information on coffee consumption every four years and documented 4,945 cases of clinician-diagnosed rosacea over the period.
The analysis, in JAMA Dermatology, found that compared with women in the lowest one-fifth for caffeinated coffee consumption, those in the highest one-fifth were 24 percent less likely to have rosacea. Women who drank four or more cups a day had a 23 percent lower risk of the skin disorder than those who drank less than a cup a month. Decaffeinated coffee was not associated with a decreased risk for rosacea.
The senior author, Wen-Qing Li, an assistant professor of dermatology at Brown University, said that the study focused on the risk of developing rosacea, but that people with the disorder might also benefit from drinking coffee.
“We would positively anticipate that caffeine intake and caffeinated coffee consumption may be beneficial for lessening rosacea severity as well,” he said, “but this would require further clinical investigation.”
