MILAN – Caffeine consumption may prolong the lifespan of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to the results of a new Portuguese study. The findings showed a dose-dependent inverse association between caffeine and all-cause mortality.
People who had the highest intake of coffee had 24 per cent lower risks of dying, while those in the second, third quartile of caffeine consumption had 12 per cent and 22 per cent lower risk.
“These results suggest that advising patients with CKD to drink more caffeine may reduce their mortality. This would represent a simple, clinically beneficial, and inexpensive option,” said Miguel Bigotte Vieira from Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte, in Portugal.
However, “this benefit should ideally be confirmed in a randomised clinical trial”, Vieira added. For the study, the team examined the association of caffeine consumption with mortality among 2328 patients with CKD
The results will be presented at the ongoing ASN Kidney Week 2017 in New Orleans. Moreover, this observational study cannot prove that caffeine reduces the risk of death in patients with CKD, but only suggests the possibility of such a protective effect, Vieira stressed.
Drinking coffee can also reduce diabetes risk, revealed a reported in the American Chemical Society Journal of Natural Products.