Cuppa Joe Cuts Diabetes Risk

HELSINKI, Finland—Coffee continues to get good and bad press coverage, but a recent study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Epub March 7, 2007) details an inverse association between higher coffee intake and incidence of type 2 diabetes.

In the trial, 21,826 Finnish men and women 35 to 74 years of age and with no history of diabetes were followed from baseline—1982, 1987, 1992 or 1997—until one of three events occurred: onset of type 2 diabetes, death or the year 2002. Specifically, researchers monitored coffee consumption and serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), a liver enzyme that maintains cellular glutathione concentrations and is used as a biomarker to indicate damage, especially oxidative. They divided the study population into two groups relative to GGT, using the 75th percentile as a cut-off point.

Results showed coffee consumption was significantly and inversely associated with incident diabetes among both men and women. The inverse association was most significant in those subjects who also had GGT levels higher than the 75th percentile, especially among women and both sexes combined. However, the association was not significant among those below the 75th percentile of GGT levels.

The researchers concluded, “Habitual coffee consumption is associated with lower incidence of type II diabetes, particularly in those with higher baseline serum GGT levels.”

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