There is no conclusive evidence that the anti-inflammatory effect of coffee plays a major role in the reduction of all-cause death noted in observational studies according to a systematic review of randomized controlled trials or RCTs.
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According to the researchers that coffee is one of the
most widely consumed beverages globally. A substantial number of observational
data suggest an inverse relationship between coffee consumption and the risk for
cardiovascular diseases.
The review specifically evaluated the impact of coffee
on inflammatory biomarkers as a potential mechanistic basis for the above observation.
Bibliographic databases were systemically assessed, including PubMed (NCBI), Embase
(Elsevier), Cinahl (EBSCO), Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics), Cochrane
Central Register of Controlled Trials (EBSCO), and CAB Abstracts (Clarivate
Analytics).
Researchers looked for RCTs that evaluated the effect
of drinking coffee on inflammatory markers of cardiovascular risk.
There were 1,631 studies were classified from the
electronic databases. There were 40 full-text documents were evaluated after
removing duplicate records and ineligible studies, of which 17 were found to be
eligible for further analysis.
Boiled coffee, based on the results, appeared to
increase total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and apolipoprotein B. Although,
no similar effect was noticed for filtered coffee. Particularly, one study
demonstrated a marked elevation in levels of blood interleukin 6 among
individuals who consumed caffeinated coffee as opposed to those who did not drink
coffee.
Experts said that the body of evidence relating coffee
consumption to specific candidate biomarkers is weak and limited to small
studies of brief duration. Information on well-known biomarkers, including
tumor necrosis factor-alpha, leptin, homocysteine, and fibrinogen, is mostly
lacking.
Aside from caffeine, coffee contains bioactive
substances, such as diterpenes, polyphenols, and melanoidins.
Source: Am J Med 2021;134:626-636.E2