Habitual coffee intake and plasma lipid profile: Evidence from UK Biobank

Background & aims: There is evidence that long-term heavy coffee consumption may adversely affect individuals' cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. As hyperlipidemia is a well-established contributor to CVD risk, we investigated the association between habitual coffee intake and plasma lipid profile. Methods: We used data from up to 362,571 UK Biobank participants to examine phenotypic associations between self-reported coffee intake and plasma lipid profiles, including low-density-lipoproteins cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total cholesterol (total-C), triglycerides, and apolipoproteins A1 and B (ApoA1 and ApoB). Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using genetically instrumented coffee intake was used to interrogate the causal nature of coffee-lipid associations. Results: We observed a positive dose-dependent association between self-reported coffee intake and plasma concentration of LDL-C, ApoB and total-C, with the highest lipid levels seen among participants reported drinking >6 cups/day (Plinear trend< 3.24E-55 for all). Consistently, in MR analyses using genetically instrumented coffee intake one cup higher coffee intake was associated with a 0.07 mmol/L (95% CI 0.03 to 0.12), 0.02 g/L (95% CI 0.01 to 0.03), and 0.09 mmol/L (95% CI 0.04 to 0.14) increase in plasma concentration of LDL-C, ApoB, and total-C, respectively. Conclusions: Our phenotypic and genetic analyses suggest that long-term heavy coffee consumption may lead to unfavourable lipid profile, which could potentially increase individuals' risk for CVD. These findings may have clinical relevance for people with elevated LDL cholesterol. 0 2021 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study suggests that long-term heavy coffee consumption may be associated with an unfavorable lipid profile, potentially increasing the risk for cardiovascular disease. Mendelian randomization analysis using genetically instrumented coffee intake supports the association between coffee consumption and blood lipid levels, indicating clinical relevance for risk prevention.