Scientists Find Who May Benefit More from Coffee in Terms of Parkinson’s Disease Risk

The relationship between coffee consumption and the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease may depend on a person’s genetic characteristics, according to a study published in the journal npj Parkinson’s Disease.

Researchers examined the role of a variant of the CYP1A2 gene, which encodes the main enzyme involved in caffeine metabolism. People carrying different variants of this gene process caffeine differently: individuals with the AA genotype are considered fast metabolizers, those with the AC genotype have an intermediate metabolism, while CC carriers are slow metabolizers.

The researchers analyzed data from 435,551 participants in the UK Biobank who did not have Parkinson’s disease at the beginning of the study. During a median follow-up period of 15.7 years, Parkinson’s disease developed in 3,319 participants.

In the overall study population, the researchers found no significant association between the amount of coffee consumed, the CYP1A2 variant and the risk of Parkinson’s disease. However, further analysis suggested that the combination of genotype and coffee consumption may be important.

Among people with the AA genotype, low to moderate coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease. The lowest estimated risk was observed among those who drank approximately three cups of coffee per day. At higher levels of consumption, however, this association was no longer observed.

In contrast, among carriers of the AC and CC variants, higher coffee consumption was associated with an increased risk of the disease. In some analyses, this pattern was particularly pronounced among men, while women with the AA genotype who consumed fewer than five cups of coffee per day had a lower risk.

The researchers emphasize, however, that genetic differences between men and women did not show a statistically significant interaction. Therefore, the observed sex differences should be interpreted with caution.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by both motor and non-motor symptoms. Numerous epidemiological studies have previously linked coffee consumption, particularly caffeine intake, with a lower likelihood of developing the disease, although findings have been inconsistent.

The new study suggests that individual genetic differences in caffeine metabolism may be one of the reasons for these conflicting results.

At the same time, the study does not prove that coffee or caffeine directly affects the development of Parkinson’s disease. In addition, participants reported their coffee consumption themselves only at the beginning of the study, and the analysis included both regular and decaffeinated coffee. Therefore, the findings cannot be considered evidence of a caffeine-specific effect.

The authors also note that most participants were White Europeans, while the number of Parkinson’s disease cases in some genetic groups was relatively small. The researchers believe that the findings need to be confirmed in further studies and do not currently provide grounds for changing coffee-drinking habits based on a person’s genotype.

Если хотите, я также могу сделать более журналистский английский рерайт — в стиле англоязычного медицинского новостного сайта.

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter