Basic knowledge of coffee drinking coffee every day can reduce the progression of hepatitis C.

The results show that people who drink more coffee have a low rate of disease progression.

In the Oct. 20 issue of the journal Hepatology, a large prospective study found that drinking more than three cups of coffee a day can reduce the rate of progression of hepatitis C.

"this is the first study to evaluate the relationship between the progression of hepatitis C-related liver disease and coffee drinking," said Dr. Neal Freedman of the National Cancer Institute in Maryland. Because a large number of people suffer from hepatitis C, it is important to find risk factors that can change the progression of liver disease. Although we cannot rule out the possible role of other factors associated with coffee drinking, our findings still suggest that people who drink more coffee have a lower rate of disease progression. "

The study included 766 people who participated in the HALT-C trial of long-term antiviral therapy for hepatitis C, all of whom had hepatitis C-related bridging fibrosis or cirrhosis, and interferon plus antiviral therapy did not achieve a sustained serological response. Clinical outcomes were evaluated every three months after 3.8 years of follow-up, including ascites, progression of chronic liver disease, liver-related mortality, hepatic encephalopathy, hepatocellular carcinoma, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, visceral bleeding, or aggravation of liver cirrhosis. People without cirrhosis underwent biopsies at 1.5 and 3.5 years for Ishak fibrosis score. At the time of entering the group, it was found that the people who drank more coffee had mild steatosis, higher albumin level, lower ratio of serum aspartate transferase to alanine transferase, lower alpha-fetoprotein, insulin level and homeostasis model score. 230 people were able to evaluate coffee drinking and disease progression and found that the more coffee they drank, the lower the rate of disease progression. The evaluation of treatment or the status of liver cirrhosis did not affect the risk assessment, and drinking green or black tea did not affect the results.

The limitations of the study included observational experimental design, lack of data on general healthy people, reliance on self-reported data, and no information on decaffeinated coffee, soft drinks, and coffee cooking methods.

"in a large prospective study of patients with progressive hepatitis C-associated liver disease, regular coffee drinking can reduce the rate of disease progression," the researchers wrote in the article. The association between coffee drinking and the progression of liver disease had nothing to do with alcohol intake and smoking. "