What to tell your patients about coffee

When it comes to hypertension, the news may be better than you expected.

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How does a three-cups-a-day coffee habit affect the blood pressure?

Who better to ask than the Italians?

Your Back Page correspondent was happy to learn that a team of Bologna-based researchers had decided to investigate the association between coffee consumption and peripheral and central blood pressure parameters in a sample of the Italian population.

The study was conducted by folks from the University of Bologna and the university’s Sant’Orsola Polyclinic and published in the journal Nutrients last week.

“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,” said Professor Arrigo Ciceroof the University of Bologna’s medical and surgical sciences department.

Yes, you heard it right: coffee drinkers had lower blood pressure. Bang down 10 macchiati a day and we’re not so sure, but in moderation, at least, the news is good.

“And for the first time, we were also able to confirm these effects with regard to 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,” Professor Cicero said.

To investigate the effects – especially the central blood pressure values – the team got 720 men and 783 women who were already taking part in a heart study to spill the beans on their coffee consumption habits.

While coffee has more than once been regarded as the bad guy, the brown tide has ebbed and flowed and, at least for the moment, the health benefits of a cup of joe are getting some attention.

According to the study these can include a lower risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and certain neurodegenerative and liver diseases. But while regular coffee chuggers have been seen to enjoy some of these benefits, it’s not yet clear exactly why.

Interestingly, they don’t seem 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,” said Professor 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.”

Have a doppio espresso and email your best caffeinated ideas to penny@medicalrepublic.com.au.