Coffee consumption is not associated with prevalent subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) or the risk of CVD events, in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: results from the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis

Abstract

BackgroundAtherosclerosis and its clinical sequelae represent the leading cause of mortality among patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). While epidemiologic data support the hepatoprotective benefits of coffee in NAFLD, whether coffee improves NAFLD-associated CVD risk is unknown. MethodsWe examined 3710 ethnically-diverse participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort, without history of known liver disease, and with available coffee data from a validated 120-item food frequency questionnaire. All participants underwent baseline non-contrast cardiac CT from which NAFLD was defined by liver:spleen ratio (L:S<1.0), and subclinical CVD was defined by coronary artery calcium (CAC)>0. Major CVD events were defined by the first occurrence of myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, angina, stroke, or CVD death. We used log-binomial regression to calculate the adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) for CAC>0 by coffee intake and NAFLD status, and events were compared between groups using frequency of events within adjusted Cox proportional hazard regression models. ResultsSeventeen percent (N=637) of participants met criteria for NAFLD. NAFLD participants were more likely to have elevated BMI (mean 31.1±5.5kg/m2 vs. 28.0±5.2kg/m2, p<0.0001), and diabetes (22% vs. 11%, p<0.0001), but did not differ in daily coffee consumption (p=0.97). Among NAFLD participants, coffee consumption was not associated with prevalent, baseline CAC>0 (PR=1.02 [0.98–1.07]). Over 12.8years of follow-up, 93 NAFLD and 415 non-NAFLD participants experienced a CV event. However, coffee intake was not associated with incident CVD events, in either NAFLD (HR=1.05 [0.91–1.21]) or non-NAFLD participants (HR=1.03 [0.97–1.11]). ConclusionIn a large, population-based cohort, coffee consumption was not associated with the prevalence of subclinical CVD, nor did coffee impact the future risk of major CVD events, regardless of underlying NAFLD status.