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Coffee is always the most controversial drink of our age :). Anyway, according to new research, men who drink four or more cups of coffee each day appear less likely to develop gout, the most prevalent type of inflammatory arthritis in men.

In 1986, the research began by collecting information from 45,869 men aged between 40 and 75 years. Participants in the study answered a host of questions, including how much coffee they drank each day. this information was updated every four years until 1998, and over the course of this time 757 of the subjects in the study were newly diagnosed with gout.

Hyon Choi (University of British Columbia) and his collaborators wondered what types of dietary choices had an effect on gout. They analysed the data and found that people who consumed four to five cups a day had a 40% reduced risk; those drinking an average of six cups a day had a 60% lower risk of the disease. However, Choi notes that some people are not able to consume this much coffee: “I can’t really tolerate it myself. I can’t sleep well if I drink it.”The exact mechanism by which coffee might guard against gout remains unclear. Researchers do not believe that caffeine has a protective effect: decaffeinated coffee was linked to a reduced risk of gout, while regular tea had no impact on risk. They suspect that another component of coffee, such as a strong antioxidant called chlorogenic acid, might somehow lower levels of uric acid in the blood.

About 1 to 2 out of 1000 men aged over 40 years are diagnosed with gout each year. Common treatments for the condition include lifestyle changes such as losing weight and reducing alcohol consumption. Medications such as Allopurinol are prescribed, but have a slight risk of producing serious and potentially fatal skin problems, researchers say.

Further in the future, a medication derived from some component in coffee might help protect people prone to this form of arthritis.

Topik: Coffee, Dietary