[이데일리 이순용 기자] A French study found that drinking coffee in chronic hepatitis B patients could lower the risk of developing liver fibrosis. Among patients diagnosed with hepatitis B and undergoing treatment, coffee lovers’ liver fibrosis index decreased by 51%.
According to the Korea Food Communication Forum on the 30th, a research team led by Professor Patrizia Carrieri of the Department of Economics, Health and Social Sciences at AIX University of Marseille, France, studied 3,792 hepatitis B patients with beverage intake and liver fibrosis. As a result of analyzing the correlation of
Results of this study (Elevated coffee consumption is associated with a lower risk of elevated liver fibrosis biomarkers in patients treated for chronic hepatitis B) was published in the latest issue of HAL.
Liver fibrosis refers to abnormally large amounts of scar tissue in the liver. This occurs when the liver tries to repair and replace damaged cells, which reduces liver function.
Patients infected with hepatitis B virus are at high risk of developing liver fibrosis, liver cirrhosis, and liver cancer despite recent advances in treatment methods. The research team started this study to find a non-drug method to prevent liver fibrosis in hepatitis B patients.
Of the total study participants (those infected with hepatitis B virus), 1,727 were receiving treatment, while 2,065 were not receiving treatment. More than half (54.6%) of patients who did not receive treatment were in poverty. The research team measured three indicators that increase in liver fibrosis, such as APII, FIB-4, and GPR, to reveal the proportion of liver fibrosis patients among those infected with hepatitis B virus. Coffee drinkers in patients with hepatitis B who were being treated had a lower risk of developing liver fibrosis. For each additional cup of coffee, APRI, an indicator of liver fibrosis, decreased by 51%, FIB-4 by 38%, and GPR by 22%. In untreated hepatitis B patients, each additional cup of tea lowered the GPR by only 22%.
In the thesis, the research team said, “The more coffee patients with hepatitis B drank, the lower the risk of liver fibrosis.” would have contributed.”
