04 Mar High Coffee Consumption Linked To Lower Multiple Sclerosis Risk
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Anna Hedström PhD student
Anna Hedström PhD student
Karolinski Institute
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Previous studies on the influence of coffee consumption on multiple sclerosis (MS) risk have yielded inconclusive results, perhaps largely due to statistical power problems since these studies comprised few cases. Caffeine consumption has a protective effect on neuroinflammation and demyelination in animal models of MS. We therefore aimed to investigate whether coffee consumption is associated with MS risk, using two large population-based case-control studies (a Swedish study comprising 1620 cases and 2788 controls, and a United States study comprising 1159 cases and 1172 controls).
The risk of multiple sclerosis was reduced by approximately 30% among those who reported a high coffee consumption, around six cups daily, compared to those who reported no coffee consumption. The risk of multiple sclerosis decreased with increasing coffee consumption. Potentially important influential factors were taken into consideration, such as smoking and adolescent obesity.
MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Response: Available data do not support recommendations for or against heavy coffee drinking for people at risk of multiple sclerosis. However, our results are in accordance with studies in animal models of MS and caffeine has also been shown to be protective against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: Further investigations are needed to determine whether caffeine exposure underlies the observed association and to evaluate the mechanisms by which coffee may be acting, which could lead to new therapeutic targets.
MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Response: The mechanisms for a potential protective effect of coffee remain unclear but caffeine, one component of coffee, has been shown to suppress the production of chemicals involved in the inflammatory response, which may contribute to explain the findings.
MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.
Citation:
High consumption of coffee is associated with decreased multiple sclerosis risk; results from two independent studies
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J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry jnnp-2015-312176Published Online First: 3 March 2016doi:10.1136/jnnp-2015-312176
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Anna Hedström PhD student (2016). High Coffee Consumption Linked To Lower Multiple Sclerosis Risk
Last Updated on March 4, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD