Link Between Coffee Consumption and Risk for Prostate Cancer?
Posted: Monday, January 25, 2021
Higher coffee consumption may be associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer, according to recent research conducted by Kefeng Wang, MD, of the Department of Urology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China, and colleagues. These findings, based on review and meta-analysis of 16 cohort studies and published in the journal BMJ Open, require further research to explore the underlying mechanisms and active components in coffee.
“In the dose-response analysis, a reduction in the risk of prostate cancer of nearly 1% was observed for each increment of one cup of coffee per day,” the study authors wrote. Further research is needed to determine the underlying mechanisms of the association and whether there is causality.
The analyzed studies included 1,081,586 total cohort members and 57,732 cases of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer categories were classified as localized, advanced, and fatal.
The investigators observed a significant association between higher coffee consumption and prostate cancer. For the highest category of coffee consumption, the pooled relative risk was 0.91 (95% confidence interval = 0.84–0.98) compared with the lowest category. The association trend appeared to be linear and significant (P = .006), and the pooled relative risk of prostate cancer was 0.988 (95% CI = 0.981–0.995) for an increase of one cup of coffee per day.
The investigators acknowledged several limitations of their study. First, the association between coffee consumption and prostate cancer might be distorted by uncontrolled or residual confounding. Second, the self-reported nature of the exposure may have resulted in possible misclassification of coffee consumption. Third, “significant between-study heterogeneity may limit interpretation of the resulted,” they cautioned.
Disclosure: The study authors reported no conflicts of interest.
