Meta-analyses have found a threshold intake of three or more cups of coffee per day to be associated with lower morbidity and mortality in the general population.
In a study published in the Journal of Hepatology (2017), researchers investigated the association between coffee consumption and mortality in patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C (HCV).
The study sample included 1028 patients enrolled in an ongoing prospective cohort study in France (the ANRS CO13 HEPAVIH Study).
All patients were co-infected with HIV-HCV. Baseline data were collected in 2005, and follow-up data were collected after 5 years.
Multivariable analysis and Cox proportional hazards were used to identify exposure factors independently associated with all-cause mortality in this population. One of the exposure factors of interest was consumption of three or more cups of coffee per day at baseline.
During the follow-up period, 77 patients died (43% from HCV-related diseases; 12% from cancers; and 10% from AIDS).
High coffee consumption was independently associated with a 50% lower mortality risk, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.5 (HR=0.5; 95% CI, 0.3-0.9; p=.032).
Additional variables associated with lower mortality were never smoking (HR=0.3); HCV clearance post-treatment (HR=0.2); and HCV anti-viral treatment without clearance (HR=0.4).
Patients co-infected with HIV-HCV are at a greater risk of death from HCV-related disease because the co-infection advances progression of liver disease.
Previous studies have shown the polyphenols in coffee have anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective properties and that coffee reduces the risk of fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with liver disease.
The authors of the current study conclude that the benefits of coffee, coffee extracts, and coffee compounds deserve further study in patients co-infected with HIV-HCV.
