Coffee intake is associated with lower rates of liver disease progression in chronic hepatitis C.
Higher coffee consumption has been associated inversely with the incidence of chronic liver disease in population studies. We examined the relationship of coffee consumption with liver disease progression in individuals with advanced hepatitis C-related liver disease. Baseline coffee and tea intake were assessed in 766 participants of the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) trial who had hepatitis C-related bridging fibrosis or cirrhosis on liver biopsy and failed to achieve a sustained virological response to peginterferon plus ribavirin treatment. Participants were followed for 3.8 years for clinical outcomes and, for those without cirrhosis, a 2-point increase in Ishak fibrosis score on protocol biopsies. At baseline, higher coffee consumption was associated with less severe steatosis on biopsy, lower serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio, alpha-fetoprotein, insulin, and homeostatic model assessment (HOMA2) score, and higher albumin (P < 0.05 for all). Two hundred thirty patients had outcomes. Outcome rates declined with increasing coffee intake: 11.1/100 person-years for none, 12.1 for less than 1 cup/day, 8.2 for 1 to fewer than 3 cups/day, and 6.3 for 3 or more cups/day (P-trend = 0.0011). Relative risks (95% confidence intervals) were 1.11 (0.76-1.61) for less than 1 cup/day; 0.70 (0.48-1.02) for 1 to fewer than 3 cups/day; and 0.47 (0.27-0.85) for 3 or more cups/day (P-trend = 0.0003) versus not drinking. Risk estimates did not vary by treatment assignment or cirrhosis status at baseline. Tea intake was not associated with outcomes.


CONCLUSIONS
In a large prospective study of participants with advanced hepatitis C-related liver disease, regular coffee consumption was associated with lower rates of disease progression.
Freedman
Neal D
ND
Nutritional Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, MD 20852, USA. freedmanne@mail.nih.gov
Everhart
James E
JE
Lindsay
Karen L
KL
Ghany
Marc G
MG
Curto
Teresa M
TM
Shiffman
Mitchell L
ML
Lee
William M
WM
Lok
Anna S
AS
Di Bisceglie
Adrian M
AM
Bonkovsky
Herbert L
HL
Hoefs
John C
JC
Dienstag
Jules L
JL
Morishima
Chihiro
C
Abnet
Christian C
CC
Sinha
Rashmi
R
D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D003069:Coffee; D018450:Disease Progression; D004327:Drinking Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D003069:Coffee; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; C100416:peginterferon alfa-2a
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