Extensive research has been conducted to examine the relationship between coffee consumption and a wide range of chronic diseases( Reference Pourshahidi, Navarini and Petracco 1 ). Links between coffee consumption and cardiometabolic health have been widely reported in the literature but with equivocal results( Reference Agudelo-Ochoa, Pulgarin-Zapata and Velasquez-Rodriguez 2 – Reference Palatini, Dorigatti and Santonastaso 4 ). The present analysis explored coffee consumption in UK adults and examined associations with markers of cardiometabolic health.
Anonymised cross-sectional data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS)* were obtained( 5 ) for 2,147 adults (945M; 1,229 F) aged ⩾18y. Using data from food diaries, coffee consumers were defined as those reporting consumption of any type of coffee (e.g. filtered/instant; caffeinated/decaffeinated) on ⩾1 occasion throughout the recording period. Markers of cardiometabolic health included physical characteristics [body mass index (BMI); blood pressure] and blood analytes [lipids; haemoglobin-A1c; homocysteine; C-reactive protein (CRP)].
Overall, there were 1,325 and 849 coffee consumers and non-consumers, respectively. Of the coffee consumers, over half (n 818; 62 %) were defined as low consumers (<2 times/day), compared to only 400 (30 %) moderate and 107 (8 %) high consumers (2–4 and >4 times/day, respectively). Instant coffee was the most frequently consumed. Mann-Whitney U tests revealed that coffee consumers were significantly older and had significantly higher BMI, blood pressure, total and LDL cholesterol concentrations compared to non-consumers.
BMI, body mass index; SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; TC, total cholesterol; TG, triglycerides; HDL, high density lipoproteins; LDL, low density lipoproteins; CRP, C-reactive protein; Hcy, homocysteine; HbA1c, haemoglobin-A1c. *Difference between groups (Mann whitney-U: P < 0·0025 Bonferroni corrected). **Remained significant after adjusting for age, sex, weight and energy intake (ANCOVA: P < 0·002).
After adjusting for age, sex, weight and energy intake, a significant difference in total and LDL cholesterol concentrations remained between coffee consumers and non-consumers. The same result was observed in males (18–64y) but not in those older than 64y. Coffee consumption was not associated with haemoglobin-A1c, homocysteine or CRP in any analysis. Markers of cardiometabolic health were not different between low, moderate and high coffee consumers.
The higher cholesterol concentrations amongst coffee drinkers in this cross-sectional study could be driven by the well-known cholesterol-raising effect of unfiltered coffee consumption( 6 ), even though the population was largely made up of consumers of instant coffee. Nevertheless, no association of cholesterol or any other marker with frequency of consumption was observed among coffee consumers.
Funding disclosure: First author (LKP) was funded by a grant from illycaffè spa, Italy.
