MIAMI - Coffee aficionados often say drinking the stimulating liquid makes life worth living, but the habit may also help them live longer, according to two major international studies released on Monday.

Experts cautioned, however, that the US and European reports, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, failed to show that coffee was truly the reason that many drinkers appeared to have longer lives.

Rather, the studies were observational in nature, meaning they showed an association between coffee-drinking and a propensity toward longevity, but stopped short of proving cause and effect.