Study shows that coffee intake is associated with reduced severity of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in people with type 2 diabetes
A total of 156 volunteers participated in the study.
English version: Diana Taborda
A study led by researchers from the Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of the University of Coimbra (CNC-UC) reveals that caffeine, polyphenols (compounds with antioxidants) and other natural products found in coffee may contribute to reduce the severity of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in overweight people with type 2 diabetes. The conclusion of this study paves the way for the use of coffee metabolites (such as theophylline) as non-invasive markers of the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is characterised by the accumulation of fat in the liver, which can lead to liver fibrosis, which in turn can progress to cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) and liver cancer. The condition does not result from excessive alcohol consumption, but from an unhealthy lifestyle with little exercise and a high-calorie diet. It is also a frequent complication in patients with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes, is characterised by high blood glucose values, hyperglycaemia, due to insufficient production of insulin (the hormone that controls the entry of glucose into the body's cells) or the body's inability to use it.
In this study, published in the scientific journal "Nutrients" and led by John Griffith Jones, researcher at CNC-UC, had the participation of volunteers recruited by the Portuguese Diabetes Association. The research team interviewed 156 middle-aged obese participants, 98 of whom had type 2 diabetes. Besides the interview on coffee drinking habits, urine samples were also collected to analyse caffeine metabolites and others - the natural products that result from the degradation of coffee in the body. This analysis provided more definite quantitative data on coffee intake, something that is of particular importance in explaining the relationship between coffee intake and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Margarida Coelho, researcher at CNC-UC and one of the first authors of the study explains that "participants with higher coffee intake revealed to have healthier livers. Also, individuals with high caffeine levels showed to be less likely to have liver fibrosis, while higher levels of other coffee components were significantly associated with a lower fatty liver index, suggesting that, for overweight patients with type 2 diabetes, a higher coffee intake is associated with less severe non-alcoholic fatty liver disease".
The University of Coimbra researcher also stresses that "current diet and lifestyle changes have contributed to the increase of obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in patients with type 2 diabetes. These conditions may evolve into other more serious and irreversible conditions, overloading healthcare systems".
The paper “Increased Intake of Both Caffeine and Non-Caffeine Coffee Components Is Associated with Reduced NAFLD Severity in Subjects with Type 2 Diabetes” is available at https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15010004.