For women with a history of gestational diabetes, drinking coffee may offer protection against developing type 2 diabetes, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Women with a history of gestational diabetes — a form of diabetes that develops during pregnancy, but typically goes away after giving birth — are at higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes, but many different factors may affect this risk. For women with overweight or obesity, losing weight can help reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes — and intermittent fasting has been shown to be effective for weight loss in women with a history of gestational diabetes. Healthy lifestyle factors such as following a healthy diet, not smoking, getting enough physical activity, and having a healthy alcohol intake have also been linked to a lower risk for type 2 diabetes among women with a history of gestational diabetes — with a moderate alcohol intake shown to be potentially protective.
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For the latest study, researchers followed 4,522 participants with a history of gestational diabetes between 1991 and 2017, for a median duration of 23.9 years. Participants updated their relevant information — including their dietary patterns and whether they had type 2 diabetes — every two to four years during the follow-up period. This included taking food frequency questionnaires that covered numerous aspects of participants’ diets, including their coffee intake. Some participants without diabetes in 2012 and 2014 also contributed fasting blood samples, which allowed the researchers to draw certain connections between dietary factors and blood measurements, as noted in an article on the study at Healio.
Caffeinated coffee consumption linked to reduced type 2 risk
During the follow-up period, 979 participants developed type 2 diabetes. Participants who drank caffeinated coffee were less likely than those who didn’t to develop type 2 diabetes — compared with those who didn’t drink caffeinated coffee, those who drank a cup or less per day, on average, were 9% less likely to develop diabetes. Those who drank two to three cups daily were 17% less likely to develop diabetes, and those who drank four or more cups daily were 54% less likely to develop diabetes. Based on participants’ consumption of both coffee and other beverages, the researchers calculated that replacing one serving of a sugar-sweetened beverage each day with caffeinated coffee would be expected to reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes by 17%, while substituting caffeinated coffee for an artificially sweetened beverage would reduce this risk by 9%.
The researchers found that in participants without diabetes who contributed blood samples, a higher consumption of caffeinated coffee was linked to lower levels of fasting insulin and C-peptide (a chemical that is released along with insulin, which can persist in blood even after insulin gets used). Interestingly, drinking decaffeinated coffee was also linked to lower C-peptide levels, but it wasn’t linked to a lower risk for type 2 diabetes within the broader group of study participants.
The researchers concluded that for women with a history of gestational diabetes, drinking caffeinated coffee — and more of it — may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, especially when compared with drinking sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened beverages.
Want to learn more about gestational diabetes? Read “Gestational Diabetes: Are You at Risk?,” “Treating Gestational Diabetes” and “What to Eat If You Have Gestational Diabetes.”
