No prior studies have specifically investigated the association between coffee brewing types and biological aging. The study included 49,414 participants from the UK Biobank. Biological aging was quantified by three established metrics: relative leukocyte telomere length (rLTL) measured by qPCR, Klemera-Doubal method biological age acceleration (KDM-BA Accel), and PhenoAge acceleration (PhenoAge Accel) derived from clinical biomarkers. In multivariable adjustment model, compared with drinking no coffee, instant coffee consumption was associated with greater KDM-BA Accel (0-1 cup per day: β = 0.050 [95% confidence interval (CI), -0.072 to 0.173]; 1-3 cups per day: β = 0.092 [-0.025 to 0.209]; >3 cups per day: β = 0.166 [0.006 to 0.326]; P-trend = 0.002). The negative association between filtered coffee consumption and KDM-BA Accel was observed (0-1 cup per day: β = -0326 [-0.437 to -0.215]; 1-3 cups per day: β = -0.762 [-0.879 to -0.646]; >3 cups per day: β = -1.118 [-1.415 to -0.820]; P-trend < 0.001). These associations were not significant for KDM-BA Accel and other coffee types. PhenoAge Accel and rLTL showed similar associations. Mediation analysis revealed that basal metabolic rate (BMR), glycoprotein acetylation (GlycA), and/or Cystatin C mediated the effects of instant and filtered coffee on KDM-BA and PhenoAge accelerations, but not on rLTL. The largest mediated proportion was observed for GlycA, accounting for 34.62% of the effect of instant coffee on KDM-BA Accel. Filtered coffee is associated with a reduced risk of biological aging, potentially mediated by its effects on BMR, GlycA, and Cystatin C. In contrast, instant coffee is linked to an accelerated risk of aging.
Longevity & Aging