07-20-2015, 04:32 PM
Mon Jul 20, 2015 11:20am EDT
(Reuters Health) - Coffee drinkers in a long-term study were about half as likely to develop type 2 diabetes as those who didn't drink coffee, and researchers think an inflammation-lowering effect of the beverage might be the key.
“Extensive research has revealed that coffee
drinking exhibits both beneficial and aggravating health effects,†said Demosthenes B. Panagiotakos of the department of Nutrition and Dietetics at Harokopio University in Athens, Greece. “An inverse relation between coffee intake and diabetes has been reported in many prospective studies whereas some have yielded insignificant results,â€
Panagiotakos, a co-author of the new study, told Reuters Health by email. Since he and his colleagues merely observed the study participants, and didn't assign them
randomly to drink or abstain from coffee, they
still can't be sure that drinking coffee helps
prevent diabetes, but their findings might help
form the basis of a cause-and-effect hypothesis, Panagiotakos said.
In 2001 and 2002, the researchers selected a
random sample of more than 1,300 men and
women age 18 years and older in Athens.
The participants filled out dietary questionnaires including questions about coffee drinking frequency.
Drinking less than 1.5 cups of coffee per day
was termed “casual†coffee drinking, and more
than 1.5 cups per day was “habitual†drinking.
There were 816 casual drinkers, 385 habitual
drinkers and 239 non-coffee drinkers. The participants also had blood tests to evaluate levels of protein markers of inflammation.
The tests also measured antioxidant levels, which indicate the body’s ability to neutralize cell-damaging “free radicals.â€
Ten years later, 191 people had developed
diabetes, including 13 percent of the men and 12 percent of the women in the original group. And participants who reported higher coffee
consumption had lower likelihoods of developing diabetes.
Habitual coffee drinkers were 54 percent less
likely to develop diabetes compared to non-
coffee drinkers, even after accounting for
smoking, high blood pressure, family history of
diabetes and intake of other caffeinated
beverages, the researchers reported in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Levels of serum amyloid, one of the
inflammatory markers in the blood, seemed to
explain some of the relationship between coffee and diabetes, the authors write.
Higher coffee consumption went along with lower amyloid levels. “Previous studies pointed in the same direction . . . now we have an additional hint,†said Dr. Marc Y. Donath, chief of Endocrinology, Diabetes
(Reuters Health) - Coffee drinkers in a long-term study were about half as likely to develop type 2 diabetes as those who didn't drink coffee, and researchers think an inflammation-lowering effect of the beverage might be the key.
“Extensive research has revealed that coffee
drinking exhibits both beneficial and aggravating health effects,†said Demosthenes B. Panagiotakos of the department of Nutrition and Dietetics at Harokopio University in Athens, Greece. “An inverse relation between coffee intake and diabetes has been reported in many prospective studies whereas some have yielded insignificant results,â€
Panagiotakos, a co-author of the new study, told Reuters Health by email. Since he and his colleagues merely observed the study participants, and didn't assign them
randomly to drink or abstain from coffee, they
still can't be sure that drinking coffee helps
prevent diabetes, but their findings might help
form the basis of a cause-and-effect hypothesis, Panagiotakos said.
In 2001 and 2002, the researchers selected a
random sample of more than 1,300 men and
women age 18 years and older in Athens.
The participants filled out dietary questionnaires including questions about coffee drinking frequency.
Drinking less than 1.5 cups of coffee per day
was termed “casual†coffee drinking, and more
than 1.5 cups per day was “habitual†drinking.
There were 816 casual drinkers, 385 habitual
drinkers and 239 non-coffee drinkers. The participants also had blood tests to evaluate levels of protein markers of inflammation.
The tests also measured antioxidant levels, which indicate the body’s ability to neutralize cell-damaging “free radicals.â€
Ten years later, 191 people had developed
diabetes, including 13 percent of the men and 12 percent of the women in the original group. And participants who reported higher coffee
consumption had lower likelihoods of developing diabetes.
Habitual coffee drinkers were 54 percent less
likely to develop diabetes compared to non-
coffee drinkers, even after accounting for
smoking, high blood pressure, family history of
diabetes and intake of other caffeinated
beverages, the researchers reported in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Levels of serum amyloid, one of the
inflammatory markers in the blood, seemed to
explain some of the relationship between coffee and diabetes, the authors write.
Higher coffee consumption went along with lower amyloid levels. “Previous studies pointed in the same direction . . . now we have an additional hint,†said Dr. Marc Y. Donath, chief of Endocrinology, Diabetes