Coffee significantly reduces the risk of gout

A new study suggests that drinking coffee can substantially reduce the chances of getting gout, a painful arthritic condition that occurs when a bodily waste product known as uric acid builds up as needle-like crystals in joints and tendons.

Washington, May 26 : A new study suggests that drinking coffee can substantially reduce the chances of getting gout, a painful arthritic condition that occurs when a bodily waste product known as uric acid builds up as needle-like crystals in joints and tendons.

A new large-scale study published in the June 2007 issue of Arthritis Care and Research examined the relationship between coffee, tea, caffeine intake, and uric acid levels and found that coffee consumption is associated with lower uric acid levels but that this appears to be due to components other than caffeine.

Led by Hyon K. Choi, of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, the current study was based on the U.S. Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted between 1988 and 1994.

It included over 14,000 men and women at least 20 years old who agreed to a medical exam in which blood and urine specimens were obtained.

Coffee and tea consumption were determined based on responses to a food questionnaire that assessed intake over the previous month.

Researchers estimated the amount of caffeine per cup of coffee or tea using data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The results showed that levels of uric acid in the blood considerably decreased with increasing coffee intake, but not with tea intake.

Additionally, there was no relationship between total caffeine intake from beverages and uric acid levels. Interestingly, there was an association between decaffeinated coffee consumption and uric acid levels.

"These findings suggest that components of coffee other than caffeine contribute to the observed inverse association between coffee intake and uric acid levels," the researchers state.

ANI