Regular Coffee Consumption May Reduce Cardiovascular Disease, Mortality

Consuming 2 to 3 cups of coffee per day may reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality risk, according to study findings published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology.

Coffee is the most commonly consumed psychostimulant in the world. Most health practitioners (approximately 80%) recommend their patients with CVD avoid coffee. Yet, in recent observational studies, researchers have found that coffee intake is not only safe but also beneficial for incident arrhythmia and CVD prevention. For the current study, researchers sought to evaluate the long-term outcomes of coffee on arrhythmias, CVD, and mortality.

Using data from the UK Biobank between 2006 and 2010, the researchers enrolled individuals (N=449,563) who had relevant data about coffee consumption who were evaluated for the type of coffee and amount of coffee they consumed and its long-term effect on CVD and mortality outcomes.

The study population comprised 55.3% women, aged median 58 (interquartile range [IQR], 50.63) years. A total of 44.1% drank instant coffee, 18.4% ground coffee, 15.2% decaffeinated coffee, and 22.4% were non-coffee drinkers.

During a median follow-up of 12.5 years, a total of 27,809 (6.2%) of participants had died.

The researchers found that drinking 1 to 5 daily cups of ground or instant coffee, but not decaffeinated, was associated with a reduced risk for arrhythmia. Drinking 4 to 5 daily cups of ground coffee (hazard ratio [HR] 0.83; 95% CI, 0.76-0.91; P <.0001) and 2 to 3 daily cups of instant coffee (HR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.85-0.92; P <.0001) was associated with the lowest risk for arrhythmia.

When compared to non-coffee drinkers, those who drank up to 5 daily cups of coffee experienced a significant reduction in the risk for incident CVD. Similarly, researchers noted a significant reduction in the risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) when participants drank up to 5 daily cups of coffee. The lowest risk for CHD was seen among those who drank 2 to 3 daily cups of coffee (HR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.86-0.91; P <.0001).

Significant reductions in the risk for congestive cardiac failure and ischemic stroke were seen with any coffee consumption. Drinking 2 to 3 daily cups of coffee was associated with lowest risk for CCF (HR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.79-0.87; P <.0001) and for ischemic stroke (HR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.78-0.90; P <.0001).

All-cause mortality was significantly reduced for all coffee types. The greatest reduction risk was observed with 2 to 3 daily cups of coffee for decaffeinated (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.81-0.91; P <.0001), ground (HR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.69-0.78; P <.0001), and instant coffee (HR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.86-0.93; P <.0001).

Overall, drinking 2 to 3 cups of decaffeinated, ground, or instant coffee, was associated with significant reductions in CVD and mortality. Specifically, ground and instant coffee were associated with reduced arrhythmia.

The major limitation of this study was the reliance on self-reported coffee consumption.

These data indicated that “Mild–moderate coffee intake of all types should not be discouraged but rather considered part of a healthy lifestyle,” the researchers concluded.

Disclosure: Multiple authors declared affiliations with industry. Please refer to the original article for a full list of disclosures.