Hyun-Seok Kim said coffee may be an easy dietary component people can consider for their health after a U.K. Biobank analysis linked intake with lower risks of cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and liver-related mortality. The study followed 354,957 participants over a median 13 years and found the strongest associations at five or more cups per day.
Kim told MedPage Today that, based on the large epidemiologic study, coffee “either caffeinated or decaffeinated -- may be an easy dietary component that many people can consider for their liver health.” He also said a moderate amount of three cups per day may be the practical balance “for getting the hepatoprotective effect, and at the same time minimizing any cardiovascular side effects.”
U.K. Biobank Follow-up
The analysis drew on U.K. Biobank participants who had no baseline cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. Coffee consumption, coffee type and additives were measured by questionnaire, while incident cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and liver-related mortality were identified through linked records. Mean age at baseline was 57 years, 49.5% of participants were men and 93.9% were white.
Within that group, 45.4% drank 1-2 cups a day, 21.1% drank 3-4 cups a day and 11.5% drank five or more cups a day. Roughly 15% drank decaffeinated coffee, and 3.4% reported using sugar or artificial sweeteners. The study also accounted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, smoking status, socioeconomic status, metabolic traits, alcohol intake and PNPLA3 genotype.
Risk Reductions In Numbers
People who drank five or more cups per day had lower risks of cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and liver-related mortality, with hazard ratios of 0.68, 0.53 and 0.58, respectively. The corresponding 95% confidence intervals were 0.58-0.79, 0.34-0.83 and 0.45-0.74.
Even 1-2 cups a day was linked to lower risk compared with no coffee, with hazard ratios of 0.80 for cirrhosis, 0.76 for hepatocellular carcinoma and 0.69 for liver-related mortality. Those estimates carried 95% confidence intervals of 0.72-0.89, 0.57-0.99 and 0.58-0.82. The association held for caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, and it also persisted for unsweetened and sweetened coffee, though the estimates were slightly weaker among people who added sugar or artificial sweeteners.
What Readers Can Take From It
The study was published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology and extended U.K. Biobank follow-up through 2023 with more adjudicated outcomes. That makes the findings useful for readers weighing long-term liver health against everyday habits, especially because the pattern was not limited to caffeinated coffee.
The practical takeaway is narrow but clear: the data support coffee as a possible part of a liver-health routine, while Kim’s own view points to moderation rather than maximizing intake. For readers who already drink coffee, the study suggests the benefit signal appears by 1-2 cups a day and may be strongest at higher intake, with about three cups a day presented as the balance point he described.
