Will this News Make You
Think About Having a Few
More Cups of Coffee?
The more coffee men
drink, the lower their
risk of gout. At least
four cups a day lower
gout risk by 40%, a
Canada/U.S. study shows.
Gout starts with a
buildup of uric acid in
the blood. This results
in deposits of uric acid
crystals in the joints
and surrounding areas,
causing swelling and
intense pain.
The new study is based
on data from nearly
46,000 male medical
professionals enrolled
in the Health
Professionals Follow-Up
Study. Over 12 years,
757 of these men
developed gout, report
Hyon K. Choi, MD, DrPH,
of the University of
British Columbia in
Vancouver, and
colleagues.
Because the men filled
out detailed diet
questionnaires, Choi's
team was able to track
the men's self-reported
use of coffee and tea.
They found that the more
coffee the men drank,
the less likely they
were to have gout.
Drinking one to three
cups of coffee a day
lowered gout risk by
only 8%. But drinking
four or five cups a day
dropped gout risk by
40%. And true coffee
addicts -- those who
drank six cups a day or
more -- had nearly a 60%
lower risk of gout.
Caffeine, whether from
coffee, tea, or both,
was not related to gout
risk. Tea, it turned
out, did not decrease
gout risk.
But decaffeinated coffee
did have an effect,
although it wasn't as
large as the effect of
the high-test brew. Men
who drank one to three
cups of decaf had a 33%
lower risk of gout.
Those who drank four
cups of decaf a day --
or more -- had only a
27% lower gout risk.
It's not clear why
coffee lowers gout risk.
Choi and colleagues note
that coffee is a major
source of a strong
antioxidant, phenol
chlorogenic acid, that
may affect gout risk.
"Our findings are most
directly generalizable
to men age 40 years and
older (the most
gout-prevalent
population) with no
history of gout," Choi
and colleagues suggest.
It's not yet known
whether women who drink
coffee are at lower risk
of gout.
The findings appear in
the June 2007 issue of
the journal Arthritis &
Rheumatism. |
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