Moderate caffeine consumption may lower the risk of developing a cardiometabolic disease

18 Sep 2024 --- Enjoying a daily cup of coffee, or any other drink or substance containing caffeine, might be a positive habit for cardiovascular health, as the chemical could offer a protective effect against multiple cardiometabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke.

In particular, a new study looking at the effects of regular caffeine intake has found it to be associated with a lower risk of new-onset cardiometabolic multimorbidity — the coexistence of at least two cardiometabolic diseases.

“Consuming three cups of coffee, or 200–300 mg caffeine, per day might help to reduce the risk of developing cardiometabolic multimorbidity in individuals without any cardiometabolic disease,” comments the study’s lead author Chaofu Ke, Ph.D., of the Department of the School of Public Health at Suzhou Medical College of Soochow University, China.

According to the study, as the global population ages, the development of multiple cardiometabolic diseases is becoming more prevalent and could soon turn into a serious global public health concern. 

“The findings highlight that promoting moderate amounts of coffee or caffeine intake as a dietary habit to healthy people might have far-reaching benefits for the prevention of cardiometabolic disease,” Ke adds.

Decreased cardiometabolic risk 

The scientific article published in Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism based its research on data from the UK Biobank — a detailed longitudinal dietary study with over 500,000 participants aged 37–73 years.

Participants who provided unclear information about their caffeine consumption were excluded from the study, so the final pool included 172,315 coffee drinkers and a further 188,091 coffee and tree drinkers free of any cardiometabolic diseases at baseline.

Cardiometabolic disease results were collected from self-reported medical conditions, primary care data, inpatient hospital data and death registry records linked to the UK Biobank.

At all levels, caffeine intake was inversely associated with the risk of developing new cardiometabolic diseases. Those who reported moderate consumption were least likely to develop such a health issue.

The caffeine in black tea is also associated with a lower risk of new-onset cardiometabolic multimorbidity.Effects on other health conditions

The research team conducted a literature review considering the existing findings on the health outcomes of regular caffeine intake, which reveal the chemical’s protective effects when it comes to morbidity and cardiometabolic diseases. 

For example, the US National Cancer Institute has found that drinking two cups of black tea a day can decrease the mortality rate by 9–13%. 

Caffeine consumption has also been linked to improved sleep patterns, as recent research conducted in the Netherlands revealed that elderly women who do not consume coffee are more likely to experience sleep disturbances. 

This review of epidemiological studies revealed that people with just one cardiometabolic disease may have a two-fold higher all-cause mortality risk than those without any cardiometabolic disease. 

Meanwhile, individuals with cardiometabolic disease could have a four to seven times higher risk of all-cause mortality. Cardiometabolic diseases were also linked to higher risks of loss of physical function and mental stress than those with single diseases. 

However, an earlier study linking the daily consumption of two to three cups of coffee with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality faced criticism from experts who noted that ruling out other correlative factors is difficult when conducting this type of observational research.