More Coffee, Less Cirrhosis, Study Says

Coffee, subject to a tug-of-war in positive and negative health studies, has its latest supporting claim: that it helps prevent liver cirrhosis.

The meta-analysis of coffee’s effects found much less cirrhosis in drinkers of extra coffee, according to the study in the journal Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics [1], a Wiley publication.

“Coffee appeared to protect against cirrhosis,” said O.J. Kennedy, lead author, from the University of Southampton. “This could be an important finding for patients at risk of cirrhosis to help to improve their health outcomes.”

The U.K. team started with more than 2,000 studies found through a search of the literature. Eliminating duplicates and irrelevant findings left nine papers: five cohort studies and four case-control studies.

Those studies followed 432,133 patients, with variously adjusted factors, including alcoholism and hepatitis.

Those who drank more coffee had lower rates of cirrhosis, according to the British researchers, including those from the University of Edinburgh.

Two extra cups of coffee per day could reduce risk of cirrhosis overall by 44 percent – and cut in half the risk of mortality from the disease, they added.

The cause of the protective properties of the beverage are still not specifically known, they were quick to add.

“It is biologically plausible that coffee protects the liver against the inflammatory and fibrotic process leading to cirrhosis,” write the authors. “Coffee contains a range of biologically active ingredients beyond caffeine, including anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory agents, such as chlorogenic acid, kahweol and cafestol, and there is evidence that these may confer protection against liver fibrosis.”

Limiting factors of the study included the fact that only six of the studies adjusted for age, and only six adjusted for body-mass index and gender. Only four adjusted for diabetes – and the five cohort studies did not adjust for hepatitis, since its prevalence was “likely to be low,” according to the authors.

The coffee debate will apparently continue. The beverage has been linked to harmful health effects, including lung and bladder cancer, and bone fractures. However, overall coffee drinking has been associated with overall lower mortality [2].

The latest study needs to be analyzed in trials, the British team added.

“We now need robust clinical trials to investigate the wider benefits and harms of coffee so that doctors can make specific recommendations to patients,” added Kennedy.