Coffee and tea may reduce the risk
of serious liver damage in people who drink alcohol too
much, are overweight, or have too much iron in the blood,
researchers reported.
The study of nearly 10,000 people showed that those
who drank more than two cups of coffee or tea per day
developed chronic liver disease at half the rate of those
who drank less than one cup each day.
The study, conducted by the National Institute of Diabetes
and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and Social & Scientific
Systems, Inc., found that coffee provided no protection
to people at risk of liver disease from other causes,
such as viral infections.
"While it is too soon to encourage patients to increase
their coffee and tea intake, the findings of our study
potentially offer people at high-risk for developing chronic
liver disease a practical way to decrease that risk,"
said Dr. Constance Ruhl, who helped lead the study.
"In addition, we hope the findings will offer guidance
to researchers who are studying liver disease progression."
Writing in the American Gastroenterological Association
journal Gastroenterology, Ruhl and colleagues said caffeine
seemed to hold the key.
They analyzed the records of 9,849 participants in a
government survey whose coffee and tea intake was evaluated
and who were followed for about 19 years.
