WASHINGTON (AFP) – Researchers in the United States have found another good reason to go to the local
espresso bar:
several cups of coffee a day could halt the progression of
liver disease, a study showed Wednesday.
Sufferers of chronic
hepatitis C and advanced liver disease who drank three or more cups of
coffee per day slashed their risk of the disease progressing by 53 percent compared to patients who drank no
coffee, the study led by Neal Freedman of the US
National Cancer Institute (NCI) showed.
For the study, 766 participants enrolled in the
Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) trial --
all of whom had hepatitis C which had not responded to treatment with anti-viral drugs -- were asked to
report how many cups of coffee they drank every day.
The patients were seen every three months during the 3.8-year study and
liver biopsies were taken at 1.5 and 3.5 five years to determine the progression
of liver disease.
"We observed an inverse association between coffee intake and
liver disease progression," meaning patients who drank three or more cups of
java were less likely to see their liver disease worsen than non-drinkers, wrote the authors of the study,
which will be published in the November issue of Hepatology.
The researchers put forward several ways in which coffee intake might protect against liver disease, including
by reducing the risk of type two diabetes, which has been associated with liver illness; or by reducing
inflammation, which is thought to cause
fibrosis and
cirrhosis of the liver.
Even caffeine, the chemical that gives a
cup of coffee its oomph, came under the spotlight, having been found in previous
studies to inhibit
liver cancer in rats.
But drinking black or green tea, which also contain caffeine, had little impact on the progression of liver
disease, although there were few tea drinkers in the study.
Coffee - More Helpful or Harmful