Espresso Consumption Linked to Increase in Serum Total Cholesterol

WEDNESDAY, May 11, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Consumption of espresso is associated with increased serum total cholesterol (S-TC), with a stronger association seen for men than women, according to a study published online May 10 in Open Heart.

Åsne Lirhus Svatun, from the University of Norway in Tromsø, and colleagues used cross-sectional population data from the seventh survey of the Tromsø Study in Northern Norway, with 21,083 participants, aged ≥40 years, to examine how various brewing methods, in particular espresso, were associated with S-TC.

The researchers found that compared with participants drinking no cups of espresso per day, consumption of three to five cups of espresso daily was significantly associated with increased S-TC in women and men (0.09 and 0.16 mmol/L, respectively). Compared with drinking no cups of boiled/plunger coffee, consumption of six or more cups of boiled/plunger coffee daily was associated with increased S-TC for women and men (0.30 and 0.23 mmol/L, respectively). For women, but not men, consumption of six or more cups of filtered coffee daily was associated with 0.11 mmol/L higher S-TC. A significant linear trend was seen for instant coffee consumption, but no dose-response relationship was seen when excluding participants not drinking instant coffee. For all coffee types except boiled/plunger coffee, sex differences were significant.

"The main finding in the present study was that espresso coffee was associated with increased S-TC," the authors write. "Further research regarding espresso would be beneficial to review these new findings."

Abstract/Full Text