Scimex: People who drink a moderate amount of coffee daily are less likely to
develop clogged arteries that could lead to heart attacks, say South
Korean researchers. The authors found that people consuming three to
five cups a day had the least risk of coronary calcium in their
arteries.
People who drink a moderate amount of coffee daily are less likely to
develop clogged arteries that could lead to heart attacks, reveals
research published online in the journal Heart.
Researchers from South Korea found that people consuming three to
five cups a day had the least risk of coronary calcium in their
arteries.
There has been much debate over the effect of coffee consumption on cardiovascular health.
Despite earlier concerns about a potential increase in heart disease
risk associated with drinking coffee, a recent meta-analysis of 36
studies showed that moderate coffee consumption was associated with a
decreased risk of heart disease. Coffee consumption has been associated
with improved insulin sensitivity and reduced risk of type 2 diabetes,
but it has also been linked to increased cholesterol concentrations and
heightened blood pressure.
An international team of researchers led by the Kangbuk Samsung
Hospital, Seoul, in the Republic of Korea, set out to examine the
association between coffee consumption and the presence of coronary
artery calcium (CAC) which is a early indicator of coronary
atherosclerosis – a potentially serious condition where arteries become
clogged up by fatty substances known as plaques or atheroma and which
can cause the arteries to harden and narrow, leading to blood clots
which can trigger a heart attack or a stroke.
They studied a group of 25,138 men and women – average age of 41 –
who had no signs of heart disease, attending a health screening
examination.
The participants’ screening examination included a validated food
frequency questionnaire and a multidetector cardiac CT (computed
tomography) for diagnostic imaging to determine levels of coronary
artery calcium (CAC) scores.
Annual or biennial health screening examinations are common in Korea,
because health examinations are mandatory for all workers under the
Industrial Safety and Health Law there and CAC scoring has become a
common heart disease screening test.
The researchers estimated the CAC score ratios associated with
different levels of coffee consumption compared with no coffee
consumption and took potential confounders into account such as
education level, physical activity level, smoking status, BMI, alcohol
consumption, family history of heart disease and consumption of fruits,
vegetables, and red and processed meats.
They categorised coffee consumption as none, less than one cup a day,
one to three cups a day, three to five per day and at least five or
more per day.
The researchers found the prevalence of detectable CAC was 13.4%
amongst the whole group of people and the average consumption of coffee
was 1.8 cups per day.
The calcium ratios were 0.77 for people who had less than one cup per
day, 0.66 for those having one to three cups every day, 0.59 for those
consuming three to five cups per day, and 0.81 for people having at
least five cups or more every day compared with non coffee drinkers.
The association was similar in subgroups defined by age, sex, smoking
status, alcohol consumption, and status of obesity, diabetes,
hypertension, and hypercholesterolaemia.
The association, therefore, was U-shaped, with participants drinking
three to five cups per day having the lowest prevalence of arteries that
had clogged up.
Possible explanations for the findings, said the researchers, were
that chronic coffee consumption had a possible link to reduced risk of
type 2 diabetes, a strong risk factor for atherosclerosis, and that
coffee drinking might improve insulin sensitivity and β-cell function.
The authors concluded: “Our study adds to a growing body of evidence
suggesting that coffee consumption might be inversely associated with
CVD [cardiovascular disease] risk. Further research is warranted to
confirm our findings and establish the biological basis of coffee’s
potential preventive effects on coronary artery disease.”