Coffee and cigarettes protect the liver
Norwegian scientists from the University of Oslo conducted an intergroup study in which 245 patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis and 245 healthy people in the control group filled out questionnaires about environmental factors affecting them. Comparison of the collected data showed that coffee consumption and smoking are potentially protective factors against the development of primary sclerosing cholangitis – a chronic liver disease caused by chronic inflammatory processes of the bile ducts.
As for coffee, according to the results of data analysis, patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis consumed less coffee both in adulthood and in youth. At the same time, the levels of liver enzymes in the blood of coffee drinkers among them were lower than in non-coffee drinkers. All this indicates the potential positive effect of coffee on the liver. Interestingly, the protective effects of coffee are more likely to extend to men.
Even more interesting is the fact that among patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis, only 20% turned out to be smokers, whereas for the control group this figure was 43%. Moreover, smokers developed the disease on average 10 years later than non-smokers. These data confirm and give weight to earlier observations, according to which smoking is a potential factor in the prevention of primary sclerosing cholangitis.
Primary sclerosing cholangitis is a rare severe disease affecting mainly young adults (30-40 years old) and characterized by a high risk of developing bile duct cancer. There are no effective methods of treating the disease, and it is one of the main indications for liver transplantation. While the positive effect of smoking in this case looks like a unique fact that applies exclusively to this disease, the ability of coffee to protect against a number of liver diseases, including cirrhosis and cancer, has been known before.
Separately, the authors note that women with primary sclerosing cholangitis were less likely to report the use of hormonal contraceptives than women in the control group. Moreover, for women, a strong positive correlation was found between a large number of children born before the diagnosis of the disease and the later age of its manifestation. This indicates that hormonal factors are involved in the development of primary sclerosing cholangitis, at least in the female body.
Article by Ina Marie Andersen et al. Effects of Coffee Consumption, Smoking, and Hormones on Risk for Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis is published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of Oslo University Hospital:
Coffee and cigarettes may protect against liver disease.
17.12.2013