Drinking coffee is associated with a heightened risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD) among men, according to a new meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Cardiology.[1] Among women, however, coffee could potentially decrease a woman’s risk CHD risk.
The study included data from more than 2.2 million patients who participated in one of 32 studies from 1977 to 2020. Overall, researchers found “no significant association” between drinking coffee and a person’s risk of CHD, but that changed when they broke down their analysis by gender.
“Our findings of the subgroup meta-analysis showed both positive and potentially negative associations between coffee consumption and the risk of CHD,” wrote corresponding author Seung-Kwon Myung, MD, PhD, with the National Cancer Center Research Institute in South Korea, and colleagues. “Coffee consumption significantly increased the risk of CHD in men, and statistically nonsignificantly decreased it in women.”
Why would coffee impact the heart health of men and women differently? Myung et al. wrote that the explanation may be sex hormones.
“Female sex hormones such as estrogen and progesterone are known to have atheroprotective effects on vessels and inhibition effects on the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, which play an essential role in formation of atherosclerotic plaque,” they wrote. “Thus, although coffee consumption increases the lipid levels in both genders, women might have protection against the effects of high lipid levels and a lower risk of CHD than men.”
In addition, moderate levels of coffee consumption—not low or high levels—was linked to a lower risk of CHD. The group also noted that the type of coffee a person drinks—caffeinated or decaffeinated—did not appear to make an impact on their CHD risk.
Another key takeaway from the meta-analysis was that the overall impact of drinking coffee on patients with hypertension remains unclear. While one prior meta-analysis from 2011 found that drinking one to three cups of coffee significantly increases a person’s risk of hypertension, another meta-analysis from 2017 found that drinking coffee can actually increase a person’s risk of hypertension by up to 3%.
“Further studies are warranted to confirm the long-term effects of coffee consumption on hypertension,” the authors wrote.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.