Caffeine Prolongs The Life Of Kidney Patients

Increasing caffeine intake may help reduce the risk of premature death in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD), a new study says.

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Increasing caffeine intake may help reduce the risk of premature death in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a new study published in Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation.

There is an inverse relationship between coffee consumption and mortality in the general population. The researchers were interested in the question of whether caffeine consumption and mortality in people suffering from chronic kidney disease are related.

A possible protective effect of caffeine is thought to be related to vascular effects. Caffeine is known to promote the release of nitric oxide, resulting in vasodilatation and improved vascular function.

The increased risk of premature death due to chronic kidney disease is very urgent as its prevalence is expected to rise worldwide. Today, approximately 14% of the adult population in the United States has CKD.

The researchers suggested that caffeine consumption may be associated with lower mortality among participants with chronic kidney disease. They looked at data from 4,863 American adults observed between 1999 and 2010.

Scientists have identified the main characteristics of consumers of drinks containing caffeine (compared to people who consumed fewer such drinks). These are usually men, non-Hispanic whites, with higher annual incomes and educational levels, current or former smokers, who consume more alcohol and have fewer previous strokes.

The analysis found an inverse relationship between caffeine consumption and all-cause mortality among participants with CKD. Higher levels of caffeine consumption reduced the risk of death by almost 25% (average of 60 months).

“Our study showed a protective effect of caffeine consumption among patients with chronic kidney disease. The decline in mortality was observed even after considering other important factors such as age, gender, race, smoking, other diseases, and diet. These results mean that advising patients with kidney disease to drink more caffeine may reduce their mortality. This appears to be a simple, clinically beneficial and inexpensive option, although this benefit should ideally be confirmed by a randomized clinical trial,”said Miguel Bigote Vieira, one of the study's lead authors.

The study was observational, so it was not intended to prove that caffeine reduces the risk of death in patients with chronic kidney disease, the possibility of such a protective effect is only assumed.