Italy: A recent study published in the journal Nutrients has found that regular coffee drinking is associated with lower blood pressure. This applies to peripheral and central aortic pressure, i.e. the one closest to the heart. The research was carried out by scholars of the University of Bologna and the Unversity Hospital of Bologna - Sant'Orsola Polyclinic.
The investigation analysed the association between coffee consumption and peripheral and central blood pressure parameters in a sample of the Italian population.
"The results obtained show that those who regularly drink coffee have significantly lower blood pressure, both on peripheral and central levels, than those who do not drink it," explains Arrigo Cicero, professor at the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences at the University of Bologna and first author of the study. "This is the first study to observe this association in the Italian population, and the data confirm the positive effect of coffee consumption on cardiovascular risk," adds Prof. Claudio Borghi, who led the study.
Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in Italy and the world: it is estimated that almost 10 million tons of coffee were consumed globally in 2020 and 2021. Despite the long-standing fears of its negative health consequences, several benefits have long since emerged: a lower risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and certain neurodegenerative and liver diseases has been observed among regular coffee drinkers. However, it is not yet clear what these benefits are due to, and they do not appear to be directly related to the effects of caffeine.
"Caffeine is only one of the several coffee components and certainly not the only one with an active role. Positive effects on human health have indeed been recorded even among those who consume decaffeinated coffee," says Cicero. "We know that caffeine can increase blood pressure, but other bioactive components in coffee seem to counterbalance this effect with a positive end result on blood pressure levels."
To investigate these effects, especially concerning central blood pressure values, the scholars looked at a sample of 720 men and 783 women from a sub-cohort of the Brisighella Heart Study, which is an observational study coordinated by Claudio Borghi, professor at the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences at the University of Bologna. Blood pressure levels, coffee consumption habits, and a range of other clinical data were compared for each selected individual.
"The results are very clear: peripheral blood pressure was significantly lower in individuals consuming one to three cups of coffee a day than in non-coffee drinkers," Cicero explains. "And for the first time, we were also able to confirm these effects concerning the central aortic pressure, the one close to the heart, where we observe an almost identical phenomenon with entirely similar values for habitual coffee drinkers compared to non-coffee drinkers."
Indeed, data show lower values for coffee drinkers in both systolic and pulse pressure, and both peripheral circulation and central aortic pressure. All results confirm coffee's positive effects in mitigating cardiovascular disease risk.
Reference:
Cicero, A.F.G.; Fogacci, F.; D’Addato, S.; Grandi, E.; Rizzoli, E.; Borghi, C.; on behalf of the Brisighella Heart Study. Self-Reported Coffee Consumption and Central and Peripheral Blood Pressure in the Cohort of the Brisighella Heart Study. Nutrients 2023, 15, 312. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15020312