Article Impact Level: HIGH Data Quality: STRONG Summary of New England Journal of Medicine, 388(12), 1092–1100. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2204737 Dr. Gregory Marcus et al.
Points
- A randomized trial investigated the effects of caffeinated coffee consumption on various health outcomes in 100 adults.
- Participants were fitted with monitoring devices and used a smartphone application to collect geolocation data over 14 days.
- The primary outcome was the mean number of daily premature atrial contractions, which was not significantly different between days when participants consumed caffeinated coffee and days when they avoided caffeine.
- Caffeinated coffee consumption was associated with higher levels of premature ventricular contractions, more daily steps, fewer nightly sleep minutes, and slightly lower serum glucose levels.
- Adherence to the randomization assignment was high, as assessed through various measures, including real-time indicators and geofencing of coffee-shop visits.
Summary
A prospective, randomized, case-crossover trial was conducted to investigate the impact of caffeinated coffee on various health outcomes, including cardiac ectopy and arrhythmias, daily step counts, sleep minutes, and serum glucose levels. The study enrolled 100 adults with a mean age of 39±13 years, with 51% women and 51% non-Hispanic White. Each participant was fitted with a continuously recording electrocardiogram device, a wrist-worn accelerometer, and a continuous glucose monitor. They also used a smartphone application to collect geolocation data. Over 14 days, daily text messages randomly instructed participants to consume caffeinated coffee or avoid caffeine.
The primary outcome was the mean number of daily premature atrial contractions. The consumption of caffeinated coffee was associated with 58 daily premature atrial contractions, compared with 53 daily events when caffeine was avoided. However, this difference was not statistically significant (rate ratio, 1.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98 to 1.20; P=0.10). The consumption of caffeinated coffee was associated with 154 daily premature ventricular contractions, significantly higher than the 102 daily events on days when caffeine was avoided (rate ratio, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.18 to 1.94). In addition, participants had 1058 more daily steps (mean difference, 1058; 95% CI, 441 to 1675), 36 fewer nightly sleep minutes (mean difference, 36; 95% CI, 25 to 47), and slightly lower serum glucose levels (mean difference, −0.41; 95% CI, −5.42 to 4.60) on days when they consumed caffeinated coffee compared to days when they avoided caffeine.
The study found that adherence to the randomization assignment was high, as assessed through real-time indicators recorded by the participants, daily surveys, reimbursements for date-stamped receipts for coffee purchases, and virtual monitoring (geofencing) of coffee-shop visits. Overall, the study suggests that while the consumption of caffeinated coffee did not result in a significant increase in daily premature atrial contractions compared to avoiding caffeine, it was associated with higher levels of premature ventricular contractions, more daily steps, fewer nightly sleep minutes, and slightly lower serum glucose levels. These findings provide valuable information to inform decisions about the potential health effects of consuming caffeinated coffee.
Link to the article: https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2204737
References Marcus, G. M., Rosenthal, D. G., Nah, G., Vittinghoff, E., Fang, C., Ogomori, K., Joyce, S., Yilmaz, D., Yang, V., Kessedjian, T., Wilson, E., Yang, M., Chang, K., Wall, G., & Olgin, J. E. (2023). Acute effects of coffee consumption on health among ambulatory adults. New England Journal of Medicine, 388(12), 1092–1100. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2204737
