Association of Coffee Consumption and Its Types According to Addition of Sugar and Creamer with Metabolic Syndrome Incidence in a Korean Population from the Health Examinees (HEXA) Study

Tan LJ, Jeon HJ, Park SH, Kim SA, Lim K, Chung S, Chang PS, Lee J, Kang D, Shin S · Nutrients · 2021 March 12

Objective

To prospectively evaluate the association between coffee consumption and the incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetS), a potential risk factor for chronic diseases.

Conclusions

The study reveals that, compared to non-consumers, Korean male moderate coffee consumers (≤3 cups/day) and 3-in-1 coffee consumers demonstrated a lower risk for low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and high fasting blood glucose (FPG). The hazard ratios (HR) for moderate coffee consumers were 0.445 (95% CI: 0.254–0.780) for low HDL-C and 0.507 (95% CI: 0.299–0.859) for high FPG. Additionally, 3-in-1 coffee consumers showed an HR of 0.423 (95% CI: 0.218–0.824) for low HDL-C and 0.659 (95% CI: 0.497–0.874) for high FPG. These findings suggest a negative association between moderate coffee consumption and specific MetS components in Korean male adults.

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Insights

Moderate coffee consumption may potentially reduce the risk of low HDL-C and high fasting blood glucose amongst Korean male adults.

The study was designed to evaluate the link between coffee intake and the onset of metabolic syndrome, utilizing participant data sourced from the Health Examinees study. Metabolic Syndrome was identified based on the criteria set by the Adult Treatment Panel III of the National Cholesterol Education Program. The researchers deployed a multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model to examine the relationship between different levels of coffee consumption and the incidence of metabolic syndrome. In the analysis of the results, moderate coffee consumption, approximately 1-3 cups per day, in male participants was found to have an inverse correlation with low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and high fasting blood glucose. More so, this inverse correlation was further observed with the consumption of 3-in-1 coffee, which includes sugar and creamer. This suggests that male habitual coffee drinkers may be less likely to experience low HDL-C and high fasting blood glucose, key markers of metabolic syndrome.