Drinking coffee can lower risk of fibrosis in liver disease, study finds
Researchers said the result meant it can be immediately used in real-world situations, as increasing coffee consumption may be beneficial for patients at risk of advanced liver disease.
The study said patients chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) are at high risk of liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and liver cancer, despite recent therapeutic advances.
They added: “It is therefore crucial to find non-pharmaceutical options for liver fibrosis prevention in this population.
“Using cross-sectional data from the ANRS CO22 Hepather cohort, we aimed to identify socio-demographic and modifiable risk factors for significant fibrosis in chronic HBV patients.”
Observational study
The ANRS CO22 HEPATHER cohort is a French therapeutic option for people and a multicentre, national, prospective, observational study of patients infected with hepatitis B or C virus
The researchers said that logistic regression models were used to test for associations between explanatory variables and significant fibrosis, as assessed by three non-invasive markers: aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index, FIB-4, and gamma glutamyltransferase to platelet ratio (GPR). Analyses were stratified by hepatitis B treatment status.
The study population comprised 2,065 untreated and 1,727 treated chronic hepatitis B patients.
The researchers concluded: “Elevated coffee consumption was consistently associated with a lower risk of elevated fibrosis biomarkers in all three treated-participant models, suggesting a dose-response relationship.
Other modifiable risk factors included tobacco and alcohol use.”
British Liver Trust
The British Liver Trust reports that regularly drinking moderate amounts of coffee may prevent liver cancer with the World Health Organisation confirming thus after reviewing more than 1,000 studies in humans. They said coffee also lowers the risk of other liver conditions including fibrosis and cirrhosis.
They also wrote: “Drinking coffee can slow the progression of liver disease in some patients and beneficial effects have been found however the coffee is prepared – filtered, instant and espresso.”
Source: PubMed
Published: doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2022.01.016
Elevated coffee consumption is associated with a lower risk of elevated liver fibrosis biomarkers in patients treated for chronic hepatitis B (ANRS CO22 Hepather cohort)
Authors: Tangui Barré et al
