Elevated coffee consumption of three or more cups per day halved the all-cause mortality rate among patients with hepatitis C and HIV coinfection, according to a recently published study.

“Polyphenols and caffeine in coffee have several hepatoprotective properties. In people at risk of liver disease, previous research has shown that coffee consumption is associated with better liver function, and less fibrosis, cirrhosis and liver cancer,” Maria Patrizia Carrieri, PhD, from the Aix-Marseille Université, France, and colleagues wrote. “In patients coinfected with HIV/HCV, individuals with elevated coffee consumption (defined as drinking three cups or more per day) have a reduced risk of insulin resistance and lower levels of liver enzymes.”

In the ANRS CO13 HEPAVIH prospective study, researchers enrolled 1,028 patients with HIV/HCV coinfection, including patients who had achieved sustained virologic response or spontaneously cleared HCV. The patients completed at least one self-administered questionnaire and provided coffee consumption data. Median patient age was 49 years (range, 46-52 years) and most patients were men (70.2%).

Most patients (51.3%) reported low coffee consumption of one or fewer cups of coffee per day, while 22.1% of patients reported moderate consumption of two cups per day and 26.6% reported elevated coffee consumption of three or more cups per day.

Over 72 months of follow-up, 77 patients died. The main causes of death were HCV-related (n = 33) including hepatocellular carcinoma (n = 11), cancer unrelated to AIDS or hepatitis (n = 9), AIDS-related (n = 8), cardiovascular disease (n = 3), overdose (n = 3), suicide (n = 3), respiratory diseases (n = 2), or unknown (n = 11).

In a multivariable model adjusted for sociodemographic, behavioral and clinical factors including severe fibrosis and HCV treatment status, patients who reported consuming three or more cups of coffee per day had a significantly reduced mortality risk (HR = 0.5; 95% CI, 0.3-0.9).

Additionally, the researchers found that no history of smoking (HR = 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1-1), HCV clearance (HR = 0.2; 95% CI, 0.1-0.7) and even HCV treatment without cure (HR = 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2-0.9) correlated with a lower mortality risk.

“Our findings indicate that elevated coffee consumption ... has a protective effect on all-cause mortality in patients coinfected with HIV/HCV, a population at specific risk of end-stage liver disease and greater risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer,” the researchers concluded. “This would also suggest that the benefits of elevated coffee are more relevant in patients with HIV/HCV than in the general population.” – by Talitha Bennett

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures