Photo: Pixabay

PACE-CME.org

Studies have shown beneficial effects of coffee intake on arrhythmias and CVD prevention. However, the most of these studies were limited to small sample sizes. The current study investigated the association between coffee intake and CVD, incident arrhythmia, and all-cause mortality using a large cohort of 38,2535 individuals from the UK Biobank. CVD was defined as a composite of coronary heart disease (CHD), congestive cardiac failure (CCD), and stroke.

Median age of the participants was 59 years and 52% were women. Coffee intake was obtained from questionnaires and categorized into 0 (reference), <1, 1, 2-3, 4-5, >5 cups/day. All participants were followed up for more than 10 years.

Results

• A U-shaped relationship exists between coffee intake and CVD. Risk of CVD was significantly reduced in the categories of <1, 1, 2-3, and 4-5 cups of coffee per day (all P<0.01, compared to zero cups/day).
• Coffee intake of 2-3 cups/day showed the lowest risk for CVD (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.88-0.94, P<0.01), CHD (HR 0.90, 95% CI 0.87-0.93, P<0.01), and CCF (HR 0.85, 95% CI 0.81-0.90, P<0.01).
• Risk of stroke was significantly reduced in the categories of <1, 1 and 2-3 cups/day, with the largest risk reduction at <1 cup/day (HR 0.85, 95% CI 0.75-0.96, P<0.01).
• Risk for any incident arrhythmia was also lowest at a coffee intake of 2-3 cups/day (HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.88-0.95, P<0.01). Risk of atrial fibrillation/ flutter was significantly reduced in the categories of 1, 2-3, and 4-5 cups of coffee per day (all P<0.01, compared to zero cups/day).
• Regular coffee intake of up to 5 cups per day reduced the risk of all-cause mortality. Regular intake of 2-3 cups of coffee per day was associated with the lowest risk for all-cause mortality (HR 0.86, 95% CI 0.83-0.90, P<0.01).

Conclusion

This analysis in the UK Biobank cohort showed that regular coffee intake, particularly 2-3 cups per day, was associated with significant reductions in CVD, incident arrhythmia, and all-cause mortality. Prof. Peter Kistler, MD stated that daily coffee intake should be considered as part of a healthy diet.