Moderate Coffee Consumption Linked to Lower Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality

by | Dec 15, 2022 | 2022, Caffeine, Cardiovascular Health

Written by Taylor Woosley, Staff Writer. Risk of incident coronary heart disease was significantly reduced in subjects with habitual coffee intake up to 5 cups/day, with the lowest risk for CHD observed in participants drinking 2-3 cups/day (HR 0.89, CI 0.86–0.91, P < 0.0001). 

caffeine - coffeeCoffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world and contains caffeine and a variety of different biologically active constituents, including epigallocatechin gallate and chlorogenic acid1. Furthermore, the two commonly consumed types of coffee, caffeinated and decaffeinated, contain cafestol and kahweol phenolic acids2. Although professional society guidelines have recommended avoiding caffeinated products to diminish the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), more recent investigation has not demonstrated an increased risk of CVD among coffee consumers3.

The development of CVD is closely related with states of insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, and chronic inflammation4. As a rich source of bioactive compounds, coffee may elicit a multitude of physiologic effects and affect these biomarkers5. Epidemiological studies suggest a lower cardiovascular disease risk with moderate coffee consumption (3-5 cups/day), with moderate coffee consumers having a 30% lower risk than those who did not drink coffee6.

Chieng et al. conducted a study to assess the role of caffeine on cardiovascular (CV) outcomes by comparing the impact of decaffeinated and caffeinated coffee. Cohort analysis was utilized to examine the associations between coffee subtypes and incident CV outcomes among participants who develop a CV diagnosis during follow-up, along with subjects who did not receive any diagnosis of CVD. Data used in the study was from the UK Biobank study, with participants recruited between the ages of 40-69 years. Participants (n=449563) were included if they had available data on ethnic background information and body mass index, smoking, and alcohol status and provided a self-reported intake of their daily coffee consumption, along with the type of coffee used.

Primary outcomes consisted of the relationship between coffee subtypes and incidence of CVD, arrhythmias, and mortality. The coffee subtypes used in analysis were decaffeinated and caffeinated coffee (ground and instant). Other analyses include the relationship between coffee subtype consumption and the incidence of subcategories of arrhythmias, as well as the subcategories of CVD and mortality outcomes. Continuous data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation when normally distributed, and medians ± interquartile range (IQR) when skewed.

Differences in variables were assessed using the x2 test for categorical data. The Student t-test or Mann-Whitney U test were utilized for normally distributed and skewed continuous data respectively. Covariates including age, gender, ethnicity, BMI, comorbidities, and alcohol intake were adjusted for in regression modelling to account for potentially confounding effects. Participants median age was 58 years (IQR 50-63), with 55.3% females. The median follow-up was 12.5 years (IQR 11.7-13.2). There were 100510 (22.4%) subjects who were non-coffee drinkers and served as controls. Significant findings of the study are as follows:

  • After adjusting for covariables, the lowest risk of arrhythmias was observed in subjects who consumed 2-3 coffee cups/day (HR 0.91, CI 0.88-0.94, P < 0.0001).
  • Habitual coffee consumption at all levels was associated with significant reduction in the risk of congestive cardiac failure (CCF) and ischemic stroke. The lowest risks were observed in subjects who consumed 2-3 cups/day, with HR 0.83 for CCF (CI 0.79-0.87, P < 0.0001), and HR 0.84 for ischemic stroke (CI 0.78-0.90, P < 0.0001).
  • Coffee subtypes (ground, instant, and decaffeinated) were associated with equivalent reductions in CVD incidence and cardiovascular/all-cause mortality.
  • A significant reduction in cardiovascular mortality was observed in coffee drinkers of 1-5 cups/day (lowest risk 1 cup/day; HR 0.82, CI 0.74-0.90, P < 0.0001).

Significant findings of the study show that all three coffee subtypes were associated with a significant reduction in CVD and cardiovascular-related mortality. Furthermore, ground, and instant, but not decaffeinated coffee consumption were associated with a lower risk of arrhythmias. Further research should continue to explore the cardiovascular benefits associated with habitual coffee consumption. Study limitations include the potential recall bias as a result of the self-reporting nature of the study and the number of excluded participants due to missing data.

Source: Chieng, David, Rodrigo Canovas, Louise Segan, Hariharan Sugumar, Aleksandr Voskoboinik, Sandeep Prabhu, Liang-Han Ling et al. “The impact of coffee subtypes on incident cardiovascular disease, arrhythmias, and mortality: long-term outcomes from the UK Biobank.” European Journal of Preventive Cardiology 29, no. 17 (2022): 2240-2249.

© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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Posted December 15, 2022.

Taylor Woosley studied biology at Purdue University before becoming a 2016 graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a major in Writing. She currently resides in Glen Ellyn, IL.

References:

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