Coffee Metabolites Associated with Improved Bone Mineral Density

Written by Joyce Smith, BS. Study identified several bioactive metabolites of coffee that were associated with a beneficial effect on bone mineral density among healthy adult coffee drinkers. 

Coffee, a popular and widely-consumed beverage, contains bioactive compounds that support health ¹. In 2015, dietary guidelines for Americans suggested an association between moderate daily coffee consumption and a reduced risk of total mortality, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and Parkinson’s disease ². These guidelines were validated by findings from a UK Biobank study that demonstrated an association between coffee consumption and reduced all-cause mortality ³, and reaffirmed that coffee drinking may contribute to a healthy diet. Epidemiological studies have associated daily coffee consumption in both increased ⁴ and reduced ⁵  bone mineral density (BMD), as well as increased bone fracture risk in women and decreased risk in men ⁶, suggesting a number of factors or causes and prompting additional research.

In a current study, Cheung and team ⁷ sought to identify coffee-associated metabolites and evaluate their association with BMD. They used a self-reported food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) on coffee consumption in 564 healthy adults from the Hong Kong Osteoporosis Study (HKOS).  Metabolomic profiling on eight-hour fasting serum samples at baseline and at follow-up were performed using LC-MS platforms. BMD of the lumber spine and femoral neck were measured using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Available medical records allowed researchers to screen study participants for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. To increase statistical power, researchers used 170 participants with low BMD and 170 with highest BMD to reflect the lowest 10th and highest 15th percentiles of the study group ⁸. Most participants were female (81.2%, nonsmokers (91.8%) and non-alcohol drinkers (84.8%); 42.4% of all participants were non-coffee drinkers and only 14.4% had more than one cup of coffee per day.

• Of the 1,194 serum metabolites that were profiled, twelve were positively and significantly associated with coffee consumption, with 5-acetylamino-6-formylamino-3-methyluracil (AFMU), quinate, 3-hydroxypyridine sulfate, and trigonelline (N-methylnicotinate) showing the strongest association. Eleven of these metabolites were previously associated with coffee intake, six of which were related to caffeine metabolism.
• The metabolite 5-acetylamino-6-formylamino-3-methyluracil (AFMU) was significantly associated with BMD at the lumbar spine (P = 0.013), while 3-hydroxyhippurate and trigonelline were significantly associated with BMD at the femoral neck (P = 0.027 and P = 0.043 respectively).
• Among 453 participants with metabolomics data assessed at baseline and follow-up (median follow-up time, 10.3 years), 11 experienced a hip fracture after assessment (seven were women).
• Cox regression analysis revealed that higher coffee consumption was associated with reduced fracture risk after adjusting for age, sex, weight, height, smoking status and fracture history; however, results were not statistically significant. (Researchers suggest this inverse yet insignificant association observed between coffee consumption and hip fracture risk may be attributed to the small effect size of coffee consumption on BMD improvement and the multifactorial nature of hip fractures).

These results show that coffee consumption is not necessarily linked to osteoporosis, and may be associated with better bone health. More research is needed to validate these results and perhaps even demonstrate that these metabolites are causally associated with BMD, which could potentially lead to a dietary supplement for improving bone mass.

Source: Chau, Yin-Pan, Philip Au, Gloria HY Li, Chor-Wing Sing, Vincent KF Cheng, Kathryn CB Tan, Annie WC Kung, and Ching-Lung Cheung. “Serum metabolome of coffee consumption and its association with bone mineral density: The Hong Kong osteoporosis study.” The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (2019).

© Endocrine Society 2019. All rights reserved

Posted February 3, 2020.

Joyce Smith, BS, is a degreed laboratory technologist. She received her bachelor of arts with a major in Chemistry and a minor in Biology from  the University of Saskatchewan and her internship through the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine and the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She currently resides in Bloomingdale, IL.

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