Habitual coffee consumption and office, home, and ambulatory blood pressure: results of a 10-year prospective study

Abstract

Objectives: Heterogeneous are the results of the published studies aimed at determining the long-term effects of habitual coffee consumption on blood pressure (BP). Specifically, no data are available on the longitudinal association between habitual coffee consumption and office, home and 24 h BP profile and variability.

Methods: In 1408 subjects recruited in the Pressioni Arteriose Monitorate E Loro Associazioni (PAMELA) study, followed for a 10 year follow-up period and classified as coffee consumers and nonconsumers (self-reporting), we prospectically investigated the association between habitual coffee consumption and office, home and 24-h ambulatory BP; 24-h BP variability; and development of a new hypertensive state. Data were also analysed according to gender.

Results: When data were adjusted for confounders habitual coffee nonconsumers and consumers displayed similar long-term BP changes during the follow-up in office, home, and ambulatory BP. No difference was found between heavy and moderate coffee consumers. Furthermore, also new-onset hypertension and patterns of BP variability were superimposable in coffee nonconsumers and consumers, independently on confounders including gender, number, and characteristics of the antihypertensive drug treatment.

Conclusion: The present study, which is the first longitudinal investigation never performed examining in a prospective fashion the long-term (10 year) effects of coffee consumption on office, home, and ambulatory BP, provides conclusive evidence that habitual coffee consumption is associated with neutral effects on in-office and out-of-office BP values and related variabilities. This is the also the case for the new-onset hypertensive state.

FIGURE 1

Office, home and 24 h ambulatory SBP (upper panels) and DBP (lower panels) blood pressure in coffee nonconsumers (0) and in coffee consumers one to two or at least three cups per day. Data are shown as means ± standard deviation at the study entry (grey columns) and after 10 year follow-up (black columns). Asterisks refer to the statistical significance (^∗P < 0.05) between groups. Data are adjusted for age, BMI, smoking habit, antihypertensive drug treatment, HDL cholesterol, and estimated glomerular filtration rate values.

FIGURE 2

New onset of office, home, and 24 h hypertension at the 10 year follow-up. Data refer to normotensive subject at baseline (n = 421 for office, n = 422 for home and n = 436 for 24 h BP measurements). Upper panel reports percentage of new-onset hypertension. Lower panel reports odd ratios (ORs) of new-onset hypertension. Cups of coffee equal to zero is used as reference group. ORs are adjusted for age, sex, and relative blood pressure.

FIGURE 3

Left panels: twenty-four (24 h) SBP (upper panels) and DBP (lower panels) standard deviations in the three groups of subjects of Figure 1. Right panels: residual variability (Var) for SBP (Upper panels) and diastolic (DBP, lower panels) variables in the same groups of subjects. Data are shown as means ± standard deviation at the study entry (grey columns) and after 10 year follow-up (black columns).