title: Coffee consumption and serum aminotransferases in middle-aged Japanese men.
abstract: We investigated the relation between coffee drinking and serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) concentrations among 7313 Japanese men receiving a health examination, excluding former alcohol drinkers and men with a history of chronic liver disease. Serum AST > 40 and/or ALT > 40 U/L was defined as liver inflammation. Adjustment was made for alcohol use, smoking, body mass index, serum marker for hepatitis virus infection, and other possible confounders. Adjusted odds ratios of liver inflammation were 1.00 (reference), 0.80, 0.69, and 0.61 for men drinking < 1, 1-2, 3-4, and > or = 5 cups of coffee daily, respectively. Among 6898 men without liver inflammation, serum AST and ALT were inversely associated with coffee consumption, and alcohol-related rise in AST was attenuated with coffee drinking. These findings suggest coffee may have an effect of suppressing the rise of serum aminotransferase, partly by inhibiting the alcohol-related elevation. Studies regarding biological mechanism are warranted.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology Unit, Tochigi Cancer Center Research Institute, Yonan 4-9-13, Utsunomiya, 320-0834, Tochigi, Japan. shonjo@tcc.pref.tochigi.jp
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Honjo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kono
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Coleman
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shinchi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakurai
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Todoroki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Umeda
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wakabayashi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Imanishi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nishikawa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Katsurada
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yoshizawa
mesh_terms: D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003069:Coffee / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000517:prevention & control; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008517:Phytotherapy; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D003069:Coffee; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase