Coffee may lower diabetes risk - study

Drinking more coffee may reduce the risk of developing the most common form of diabetes, a study has found.

Compared to non-coffee drinkers, men who drank more than six eight-ounce cups of caffeinated coffee per day lowered their risk of type two diabetes by about half, and women reduced their risk by nearly 30%, according to the study in today’s Annals of Internal Medicine.

Nevertheless, experts said more research was needed to establish whether it really was the coffee – or something else about coffee drinkers – that protects them.

“The evidence is quite strong that regular coffee is protective against diabetes,” said one of the researchers, Dr Frank Hu of the Harvard School of Public Health.

“The question is whether we should recommend coffee consumption as a strategy. I don’t think we’re there yet.”

Type Two diabetes, formerly called adult-onset diabetes, typically shows up in middle-aged people.

Caffeine has previously been found to reduce insulin sensitivity and raise blood sugar – both bad news for the body. But the researchers note that coffee, whether it is regular or decaffeinated, also contains potassium, magnesium and antioxidants that might counteract those negative effects and improve the body’s response to insulin.

In the latest study, more than 126,000 people filled out questionnaires reporting, among other things, their intake of coffee and tea. Researchers adjusted the data for risk factors such as smoking, exercise and obesity.

There was a more modest effect among decaf drinkers: a 25% risk reduction for men and 15% for women. There was no statistically significant link between diabetes and tea.