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Caffeine Adversely Affects Endothelial Function In Healthy People: Presented at ASH(HYP)
By Maggie Schwarz
NEW YORK, NY -- May 21, 2004 -- For the first time, coffee and caffeine have been found to alter endothelial function acutely in healthy people, researchers reported here May 20th American Society of Hypertension Nineteenth Annual Scientific Meeting.
Chris Papamichael, MD, and colleagues, Department of Therapeutics, Alexandra University Hospital, Athens, Greece, investigated whether coffee and caffeine could affect endothelial function in healthy volunteers.
"Coffee and caffeine, its main ingredient, are consumed by at least eight of 10 adults in western countries, with a mean per capita consumption of approximately 200 mg daily," Dr. Papamichael said. "The medical community, however, has long viewed caffeine with suspicion."
As part of this single-blind, crossover study, 17 healthy young volunteers drank a cup of regular coffee containing 80 mg of caffeine or a corresponding cup of decaffeinated beverage containing less than 2 mg of caffeine. There were nine men and eight women, mean age was 29 years, and subjects were regular, non-heavy coffee drinkers.
Endothelial performance was estimated using flow-mediated dilation (FMD); the higher the FMD value, the better the endothelial function.
"After drinking regular coffee, FMD decreased," Dr. Papamichael noted. "There was no such effect when test subjects drank decaffeinated coffee. We attribute this affect directly to caffeine, since the quantity of caffeine was the unique difference between the two beverages."
"Before individuals switch to decaffeinated coffee," Dr. Papamichael stressed, "more clarification is needed. At this time, we do not know whether regular intake of coffee could result in an increase of total cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in specific populations or in healthy people. We must also answer questions such as who should not drink or limit coffee consumption."
"Until we have the answers, some people, especially those with cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol should enjoy their coffee with caution," Dr. Papamichael concluded.
[Presentation title: "Coffee exerts an acute unfavorable effect on endothelial function of healthy subjects." Poster P116]
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