Decaf Coffee Linked to
Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk
Excerpt By Melissa Schorr, Reuters Health

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters Health) - Decaffeinated coffee may raise women's risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, according to the findings of two studies presented here Tuesday at the American College of Rheumatology's annual meeting.

``We concluded that decaffeinated coffee consumption was an important yet modifiable risk factor in the development of rheumatoid arthritis,'' said lead author Dr. Ted R. Mikuls, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. ''Given the global popularity of coffee, our findings have potential public health implications.''

The researchers followed more than 31,000 women aged 55 to 69 included in the Iowa Women's Health Study from 1986 through 1997. They tracked the 158 women who developed rheumatoid arthritis during that time period and compared them with women who did not develop the disease.

In rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system attacks the lining of the joints, causing pain, stiffness and inflammation.

Women drinking four or more cups a day of decaffeinated coffee were at more than twice the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, Mikuls and colleagues found. However, women drinking regular coffee were not at increased risk, while those drinking more than three cups of tea had a 60% reduced risk of developing the disease.

``We found no association with daily caffeine intake or caffeinated coffee use and the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis,'' Mikuls said.

The researchers took into account other possible contributing factors, such as age, smoking history, marital status and the use of hormone replacement therapy. ``The association persisted even after accounting for other factors that may be associated with rheumatoid arthritis,'' Mikuls added.

In a similar study, researchers led by Dr. Timothy McAlindon, an assistant professor of medicine at Boston University in Massachusetts, evaluated risk factors for developing rheumatoid arthritis among 64,000 black women followed since 1995 as part of the Black Women's Health Study.

The Boston researchers reported that drinking more than one cup a day of decaffeinated coffee seemed to quadruple the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. ``We wondered, how on earth could coffee have no effect, yet decaffeinated coffee, which should be similar, is a risk factor?'' McAlindon said. ``That's a dilemma for us.''

McAlindon added, ``As far as I know, these are the first observations of decaffeinated coffee having an association with any metabolic disorder.''

Mikuls speculated that the use of industrial solvents in the decaffeination process may play a role. ``There is accumulating evidence that environmental factors play an important role in the development of rheumatoid arthritis,'' he noted.

It is also feasible, McAlindon said, that women who begin developing symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis may switch to decaffeinated coffee. ``Could rheumatoid arthritis do something to an individual's metabolism which makes them start preferring decaf?'' he said. ``That could produce these results.''

Reference Source 89

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