A new meta-analysis published in BioMed Central Cancer suggests that coffee consumption may reduce total cancer incidence.¹ Xiofeng Yu et al‘s analysis of 59 studies also showed that coffee consumption may be inversely associatedwith the risk of bladder, breast, buccal cavity, pharynx, colorectum, endometrium, oesophagus, hepatocellular, leukemia, pancreas and prostate cancers.

This analysis of 59 studies included 40 prospective cohort studies and 2,179,126 participants.

Dr Euan Paul, Executive Director of the British Coffee Association, commented, “This study adds to the growing scientific data that suggests moderate coffee consumption, 4 – 5 cups of coffee per day, is not associated with an increased risk of cancer. It is particularly encouraging to see that this meta-analysis also suggests that coffee consumption may be inversely associated with cancer at a range of sites in the body. This study builds on the World Cancer Fund’s advice that coffee has no significant relationship with the risk of cancer at any site ² . ”

As advised by the NHS, pregnant women should moderate their intake of caffeine to 200mg per day from all sources.³

References

1. Yu, X. et al. Coffee consumption and risk of cancers: a meta-analysis of cohort studies. BMC Cancer 2011, 11:96. Doi:10.1186/1471-2407-11-96

2. Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective as well as the companion report, Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention , available online: www.dietandcancerreport.org

3. NHS Choices, http://www.nhs.uk/Planners/pregnancycareplanner/pages/Healthinpregnancyhome.aspx

Research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutritionshows that moderate coffee consumption is not associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) associated morality or all-cause mortality.¹The investigators followed a cohort of 11,697 women and found there to be no association between the consumption of filtered caffeinated coffee and the risk of all-cause or CVD mortality.¹

These data build on research in the area of cardiovascular health which has shown that long-term coffee consumption does not increase the risk of coronary heart disease², stroke³, and premature death from CVD or all-causes.⁴

This research is important as:

· Heart and circulatory disease is the UK’s biggest killer⁵

· More than one in five deaths in women before the age of 75 is due to CVD⁵

Dr Euan Paul, Executive Director of the British Coffee Association, commented, “These data add to the overwhelming weight of scientific research which demonstrates that moderate coffee consumption of 4-5 cups per day is safe and may be associated with some health benefits. This research also builds further on the British Heart Foundation’s advice that moderate amounts of caffeine (four to five cups per day) does not lead to arrhythmias, coronary heart disease, or effect an individual’s blood pressure, and nor does it increase the risk.⁶”

As advised by the NHS, pregnant women should moderate their intake of caffeine to 200mg per day from all sources.⁷If you would like to speak with a healthcare professional or a representative from the British Coffee Association to gain further information please contact Lottie Tupholme on 020 8392 6937 at Red Door Communications.

References

1. Lopez-Garcia E, Rodriguez-Artalejo F, et al. Coffee consumption and mortality in women with cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.110.010249

2. Lopez-Garcia E, van Dam RM, Willett WC, et al. Coffee consumption and coronary heart disease in men and women: a prospective cohort study. Circulation 2006;113:2045–53

3. Lopez-Garcia E, Rodriguez-Artalejo F, Rexrode KM, Logroscino G, Hu FB, van Dam RM. Coffee consumption and risk of stroke in women. Circulation 2009;119:1116–23

4. Lopez-Garcia E, van Dam RM, Li TY, Rodriguez-Artalejo F, Hu FB. The relationship of coffee consumption with mortality. Ann Intern Med. 2008;148:904–14

5. Coronary Heart Disease Statistics 2010. British Heart Foundation

6. The British Heart Foundation. http://www.bhf.org.uk/publications/view-publication.aspx?ps=1000767

7. NHS Choices, http://www.nhs.uk/Planners/pregnancycareplanner/pages/Healthinpregnancyhome.aspx

Research published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis shows that moderate coffee consumption may be associated with a reduced risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in the general population.¹ Analysis of 26,755 subjects showed that a daily coffee consumption of 5-6 cups of coffee was significantly associated with a 33% reduced risk of VTE compared to those who didn’t drink coffee.¹

This research is important as:

· VTE is a major health problem – each year, more people are affected by VTE than breast cancer, lung cancer and AIDS²

· It is estimated that approximately 50% of people who have a DVT will go on to develop a pulmonary embolism (PE), PE is the single, most common preventable cause of death in hospital patients²

Dr Euan Paul, Executive Director of the British Coffee Association, commented, “These data add to the overwhelming weight of scientific research which demonstrates that moderate coffee consumption of 4-5 cups per day is safe and may be associated with some health benefits. This research is encouraging as it suggests that moderate coffee consumption may be associated with a reduced risk of VTE, however more studies are required to understand the relationship further.”

As advised by the NHS, pregnant women should moderate their intake of caffeine to 200mg per day from all sources.³

References

1. Enga, K, et al. Coffee consumption and the Risk of Venous Thromboembolism – the Tromsø study. Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. doi: 10.1111/j.1538-7836.2011.04353.x

2. Lifeblood, The Thrombosis Charity: http://www.thrombosis-charity.org.uk/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=287&Itemid=374

3. NHS Choices, http://www.nhs.uk/Planners/pregnancycareplanner/pages/Healthinpregnancyhome.aspx

Research published in the American Journal of Medicine shows that moderate coffee consumption is well tolerated in patients with either known or suspected arrhythmia.¹The investigators reviewed evidence relating to caffeine and arrhythmia in order to provide recommendations for patients experiencing arrthymia.

These data build on the British Heart Foundation’s advice that moderate amounts of caffeine (four to five cups per day) does not lead to arrhythmias, coronary heart disease, or effect an individual’s blood pressure, and nor does it increase the risk²

Dr Euan Paul, Executive Director of the British Coffee Association, commented, “These data add to the overwhelming weight of scientific research which demonstrates that moderate coffee consumption of 4-5 cups per day is safe and may be associated with some health benefits. This research demonstrates that moderate coffee consumption is well tolerated by patients with arrhythmia and these results are encouraging.”

As advised by the NHS, pregnant women should moderate their intake of caffeine to 200mg per day from all sources.³

References

1. Pelchovitz, D. et al. Caffeine and Cardiac Arrhythmias: A Review of the Evidence. American Journal of Medicine. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2010.10.017

2. The British Heart Foundation. http://www.bhf.org.uk/publications/view-publication.aspx?ps=1000767 . Accessed April 2011

3. NHS Choices, http://www.nhs.uk/Planners/pregnancycareplanner/pages/Healthinpregnancyhome.aspx . Accessed April 2011

A new study published in the European Journal of Epidemiology shows that coffee consumption may be associated with a reduction in all cause mortality and is associated with no increased risk of total cancer mortality.¹ This large-scale cohort study looked at 97,753 Japanese men and women and found that all-cause mortality decreased with increasing coffee consumption in both men and women.

In addition, researchers found no association between coffee consumption and cancer mortality in men, and a weak inverse association was found in women.¹This data builds on previous data in the area which has suggested that coffee consumption is inversely associated with cancer of the liver, kidney and breast.^2,3,4,5

Dr Euan Paul, Executive Director of the British Coffee Association, commented, “This data adds to the overwhelming weight of scientific research which demonstrates that moderate coffee consumption of 4-5 cups per day is safe and may be associated with some health benefits. Encouragingly, this research builds on previous research which has suggested an inverse association between coffee consumption and all-cause mortality.^6,7Whilst more research is required to determine the mechanism for the effects seen in this study, the results are encouraging.”

As advised by the NHS, pregnant women should moderate their intake of caffeine to 200mg per day from all sources.⁸

References

1. Tamakoshi, A. et al. Effect of coffee consumption on all-cause and total cancer mortality: findings from the JACC study. European Journal of Epidemiology. DOI 10.1007/s10654-011-9548-7

2. Inoue M, Yoshimi I, Sobue T, Tsugane S, The JPHC StudyGroup. Influence of coffee drinking on subsequent risk of hepatocellular carcinoma: A prospective study in Japan. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2005;97:293–300

3. Kurozawa Y, Ogimoto I, Shibata A, et al. Coffee and risk of death from hepatocellular carcinoma in a large cohort study in Japan. Br J Cancer. 2005;93:607–10

4. Lee JE, Hunter DJ, Spiegelman D, et al. Intakes of coffee, tea, milk, soda and juice and renal cell cancer in a pooled analysis of 13 prospective studies. Int J Cancer. 2007;121:2246–53

5. Vatten LJ, Solvoll K, Løken EB. Coffee consumption and the risk of breast cancer. A prospective study of 14, 593 Norwegian women. Br J Cancer. 1990;62:267–70

6. Iwai N, Ohshiro H, Kurozawa Y, et al. Relationship between coffee and green tea consumption and all-cause mortality in a cohort of a rural Japanese population. Journal of Epidemiology 2002;12:191–8

7. Happonen P, La¨a¨ra¨ E, Hiltunen L, Luukinen H. Coffee consumption and mortality in a 14-year follow-up of an elderly northern Finnish population. Br J Nutr. 2008;99:1354–61

8. NHS Choices, http://www.nhs.uk/Planners/pregnancycareplanner/pages/Healthinpregnancyhome.aspx

A prospective cohort study published in the British Medical Journal demonstrates that coffee consumption may be associated with a reduced risk of heart failure in women.¹Analysis of data from a cohort of 59,490 Finnish men and women (28,837 men and 30,653 women) aged 25-74 years old, showed an inverse relationship between moderate coffee consumption and heart failure in women. The results also showed that there was no increased risk of heart failure in those men who participated in the study.¹

These new findings are particularly important as:

^· Heart failure has become a major and growing health problem across all countries in the world, in the UK there are 63,000 new cases per year²

^· Although the use of medication has reduced the re-hospitalisation rates and mortality from heart failure, it is still one of the leading causes of hospitalisation³

^· Mortality of heart failure patients has remained substantial, with approximately one-quarter of patients dying within one year and half within five years of diagnoses – it is important that lifestyle factors contributing to risk of heart failure are taken into consideration.¹

Dr Euan Paul, Executive Director of the British Coffee Association, commented, “This study adds further support to the already overwhelming weight of evidence which demonstrates that coffee consumed in moderation- that is four to five cups per day, is safe and may even confer certain health benefits. The scientific evidence concludes that moderate coffee consumption does not significantly affect peoples’ risk of coronary heart disease, or their risk of stroke. Indeed recent research suggests that coffee may even have a protective effect.⁴ Further research to determine the mechanism of action is required, however the results are very encouraging.”

This study builds on important research from Lopez Garcia et al, a study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association⁴which demonstrated that moderate coffee consumption does not significantly affect women’s risk of stroke, and may even have a protective effect.⁴

As advised by the Food Standards Agency guidelines, pregnant women should moderate their intake of caffeine to 200mg per day from all sources.⁵

References

¹ Wang, Y., et al Coffee consumption and the risk of heart failure in Finnish men and women , Heart BMJ DOI:10.1136/hrt.2010.206045

² Heart Stats http://www.heartstats.org/

³ British Heart Foundation http://www.bhf.org.uk/

⁴ Lopez-Garcia E., et al. Circulation – Journal of the American Heart Association, 2009 (available online: http://circ.ahajournals.org)

⁵ Food Standards Agency – http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/agesandstages/pregnancy/whenyrpregnant/