Drinking At Least Three Cups of Coffee Every Day May Keep HIV Death Risk at Bay: Study

Coffee lovers, looks like you may have a reason to drink up just another cup of coffee today. According to the research published in the Journal of Hepatology, drinking at least three cups of coffee and not smoking daily may half the risk of mortality in patients infected by both human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Patients infected by both HIV and HICV are at specific risk of end-stage liver disease and a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

According to the researchers, HIV-HCV infected patients, drinking three cups of coffee throughout the day halved the risk of mortality. Furthermore, HIV infection increases the progression of chronic hepatitis C to fibrosis and development of cirrhosis and end-stage liver disease. "This is a very exciting time for HCV research as a cure that can eradicate the virus is now available for all patients," explained lead investigator Dominique Salmon-Ceron from Universite Paris Descartes, Paris.

According to the researchers, coffee is known to have anti-inflammatory properties and liver-protective properties. It is also due to the properties of polyphenols contained in coffee that can protect the liver and also reduce inflammation.

For the study, the team used data from a five year follow up of about 1,028 HIV-HCS infected patients. One in four patients reported drinking at least three cups of coffee a day. Over these five years, 77 deaths occurred; half of them were attributed to hepatitis C. Further analysis revealed that drinking at least three cups of coffee daily was associated with a 50 percent reduction in mortality risk even after taking into account HCV clearance, HIV- and HCV-related factors, and other socio-behavioral factors, such as having a steady partner and not smoking.

The complete research highlighted the importance of different behaviours- coffee consumption and not smoking in particular.