Increased Coffee Consumption May Reduce Risk for Gout in Men

May 25, 2007 — Long-term consumption of coffee is associated with reduced risk for gout in men older than 40 years, according to the results of a prospective study reported in the June issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.
"Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world and may affect the risk of gout via various mechanisms," write Hyon K. Choi, MD, DrPH, from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and colleagues. "A study of a nationally representative sample of US adults showed that coffee consumption was associated with a lower serum level of uric acid and a lower frequency of hyperuricemia."
The study cohort from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study consisted of 45,869 men with no history of gout at baseline. Validated questionnaires were used to measure intake of coffee, decaffeinated coffee, tea, and total caffeine every 4 years for 12 years, and a supplementary questionnaire was used to determine whether participants met the American College of Rheumatology survey criteria for gout.
During the 12-year study, there were 757 confirmed incident cases of gout. Increasing coffee intake was inversely associated with the risk for gout, with multivariate relative risks (RRs) for incident gout of 1.00, 0.97, 0.92, 0.60 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41 - 0.87), and 0.41 (95% CI, 0.19 - 0.88) for coffee consumption categories of 0, less than 1, 1 to 3, 4 to 5, and 6 or more cups per day, respectively (P for trend = .009).
For decaffeinated coffee, the multivariate RRs for 0, less than 1, 1 to 3, and 4 or more cups per day were 1.00, 0.83, 0.67 (95% CI, 0.54 - 0.82), and 0.73 (95% CI, 0.46 - 1.17), respectively (P for trend = .002).
These associations were independent of dietary and other risk factors for gout such as body mass index, age, hypertension, diuretic use, alcohol consumption, and chronic renal failure. Total caffeine from all sources and tea intake were not associated with the risk for gout.
"These prospective data suggest that long-term coffee consumption is associated with a lower risk of incident gout," the authors write.
Study limitations include self-report of coffee consumption, restriction to male healthcare professionals in the cohort, observational design, and inability to rule out the possibility that unmeasured factors might contribute to the observed associations.
The National Institutes of Health and TAP Pharmaceuticals supported this study. Some of the authors have disclosed various financial relationships with TAP and/or Savient Pharmaceuticals.