Health Benefits of Coffee in Cardiovascular Disease.
Coffee is one of the most popular beverages across the world, yet little is known about the long term effects of its consumption on cardiovascular disease.
New research from the Heart and Vascular Centre, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary and presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2021 has shown that up to three cups of coffee per day is associated with a lower risk of stroke and fatal heart disease.
The study investigated the association between usual coffee intake and the incidence of heart attack, stroke and death. The study included 468,629 participants of the UK Biobank with no signs of heart disease at the time of recruitment, making it one of the largest studies to systematically assess the cardiovascular effects of regular coffee consumption in a population without diagnosed heart disease.
Compared to non-coffee drinkers, light-to-moderate consumption was associated with a 12% lower risk of all-cause death, 17% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and 21% lower risk of incident stroke.
The study author Dr. Judit Simon stated "Our results suggest that regular coffee consumption is safe, as even high daily intake was not associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes and all-cause mortality after a follow-up of 10 to 15 years. Moreover 0.5 to 3 cups of coffee per day was independently associated with lower risks of stroke, death from cardiovascular disease, and death from any cause."
To examine the potential underlying mechanisms, the researchers analysed the association between daily coffee intake and heart structure and function over a median follow-up of 11 years. For this, they used data from 30,650 participants who underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Cardiac MRI is considered the gold standard for the assessment of cardiac structure and function.
Dr. Simon said: "The imaging analysis indicated that compared with participants who did not drink coffee regularly, daily consumers had healthier sized and better functioning hearts. This was consistent with reversing the detrimental effects of ageing on the heart."
She concluded: "Our findings suggest that coffee consumption of up to 3 cups per day is associated with favourable cardiovascular outcomes. While further studies are needed to explain the underlying mechanisms, the observed benefits might be partly explained by positive alterations in cardiac structure and function."
There was also a sub-analysis on the types of mostly consumed coffee. In this, decaffeinated coffee was associated with lower risk of all-cause and cardiovascular deaths, but not with a lower incidence of stroke. This suggests that caffeine is not the only component responsible for the health benefits.
Instant coffee was also associated with a lower risk of all-cause death. Ground coffee was linked with reduced risk of all-cause and cardiovascular death and a lower incidence of stroke.
References:
www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/Light-to-moderate-coffee-drinking-associated-with-health-benefits
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210830075619.htm