Coffee or Tea May Reduce Risk of Liver Disease

Coffee or Tea May Reduce Risk of Liver Disease - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today: "SILVER SPRING, Md., Dec. 5 - Drinking two or more cups of coffee or tea per day may help protect the liver.
This effect of coffee and tea emerged from an NIH-supported analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data on nearly 10,000 people, from a survey administered from 1971 to 1975 and again from 1982 to 1984. The cumulative incidence of liver disease in the study sample was 1.4%.
The analysis found that those who drank two or more cups of coffee or tea a day had about half the rate hospitalization or death from liver disease over two decades years as those who drank one cup a day or less, Constance E. Ruhl, M.D., Ph.D., of Social & Scientific Systems here and James E. Everhart of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases reported in the December issue of Gastroenterology.
Participants were followed through 1992-1993 for hospitalization or death from chronic liver disease or cirrhosis. Average follow up was 19 years. About 14% of respondents reported drinking one cup or less per day, 45% reported drinking one to two cups daily, and 41% drank two or more cups of coffee or tea per day. "/.../