A new study suggests that women who drink four or more cups of caffeinated coffee per day have a significantly reduced risk of having a stroke, compared with women who have one or less cups per day.

Researchers from the Nurses' Health Study analyzed data of 83,076 women who began the study in 1980 with no history of stroke, heart disease, diabetes or cancer.

During the 24-year study, 2,280 of the participants suffered strokes.

For non-smoking coffee drinkers, the study noted a 43-percent decrease in stroke risk. For the coffee drinkers who smoked, the reduction was 3 percent.

The benefits of coffee don't appear to be in its caffeine, the researchers said. Participants in the study who drank caffeinated tea and soft drinks did not appear to reap the same benefits as coffee drinkers, according to the researchers.