Background & Aims

Coffee has anti-inflammatory and hepato-protective properties. In the general population, drinking ≥3 cups of coffee/day has been associated with a 14% reduction in the risk of all-cause mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between coffee consumption and the risk of all-cause mortality in patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Methods

ANRS CO13 HEPAVIH is an ongoing French nationwide prospective cohort of patients co-infected with HIV-HCV collecting both medical and psychosocial/behavioural data (annual self-administered questionnaires). We used a Cox proportional hazards model to estimate the effect of elevated coffee consumption (≥3 cups/day) at baseline on all-cause mortality during the cohort’s five-year follow-up.

Results

Over a median [interquartile range] follow-up of 5.0 [3.9–5.9] years, 77 deaths occurred among 1,028 eligible patients (mortality rate 1.64/100 person-years; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.31–2.05). Leading causes of death were HCV-related diseases (n = 33, 43%), cancers unrelated to AIDS/HCV (n = 9, 12%), and AIDS (n = 8, 10%). At the first available visit, 26.6% of patients reported elevated coffee consumption. Elevated coffee consumption at baseline was associated with a 50% reduced risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio 0.5; CI 0.3–0.9; p = 0.032), after adjustment for gender and psychosocial, behavioral and clinical time-varying factors.

Conclusions

Drinking three or more cups of coffee per day halves all-cause mortality risk in patients co-infected with HIV-HCV. The benefits of coffee extracts and supplementing dietary intake with other anti-inflammatory compounds need to be evaluated in this population.

Lay summary

Coffee has anti-inflammatory and hepato-protective properties but its effect on mortality risk has never been investigated in patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). This study shows that elevated coffee consumption (≥3 cups/day) halves all-cause mortality risk in patients co-infected with HIV-HCV. The benefits of coffee extracts and supplementing dietary intake with other anti-inflammatory compounds need to be evaluated in this population.