Recent research, conducted by a team of scientists from the Queen Mary University of London, UK, suggests that drinking any amount of coffee lowers the risk of acute kidney injury, but that 2-3 cups per day is most beneficial. However, researchers claim that further research is needed to understand this link.

For the study, the team used data from 14,207 adults whose age was between 45 and 64 from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. All the participants fulfilled a food frequency questionnaire, and the researchers figured out that 27% never drank coffee, 14% drank less than a cup of coffee per day, 19% drank 1 cup per day, 23% drank 2-3 cups per day, and 17% drank more than 3 cups per day.

To define acute kidney injury, the scientists analyzed rates of hospitalization, including an International Classification of Diseases code indicating acute kidney injury (AKI) throughout a median period of 24 years follow-up. They noted 1,694 cases of incident AKI during the follow-up period.