New Research Shows Coffee’s Health Effects May Vary Based on Your Genetics
Coffee Health Effects Genetics
The intricacies of your genetic makeup make it difficult to provide a straightforward answer regarding your relationship with coffee.
The habit of consuming coffee is not only inherited but also laden with genetic implications. According to Sandra Sanchez-Roige, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, caffeinated coffee qualifies as a psychoactive substance.
She is part of a global consortium of researchers who have compared coffee consumption data from the 23andMe database with an extensive set of records from the United Kingdom. Her study, recently published in Neuropsychopharmacology, offers insights into this complex relationship.
Coffee Health Effects Genetics
The study’s lead author, Hayley H. A. Thorpe, Ph.D., from the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry in Ontario, explains that the team collected both genetic data and self-reported coffee consumption figures to conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS). Their objective was to link genes associated with coffee consumption to health-related traits and conditions.
“We used this data to pinpoint regions on the genome that correlate with a person’s likelihood to drink coffee,” Thorpe elaborated, “and to identify the underlying genes and biological mechanisms that influence coffee intake.”
Genetic Predispositions Toward Coffee Consumption
Abraham Palmer, Ph.D., a co-lead researcher and professor in the UC San Diego School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry, noted that many people are surprised to learn that coffee consumption has a genetic basis.
“Earlier studies suggested that genes do influence how much coffee one consumes,” he remarked. “So, we weren’t particularly shocked to find statistical evidence in both cohorts we studied, indicating that coffee consumption is indeed heritable.
The specific gene variants inherited from your parents can affect your coffee consumption habits.”
Sanchez-Roige identified two primary questions the researchers aimed to answer: First, to what extent is coffee consumption influenced by genetics? Second, a question of great interest to coffee enthusiasts: Is coffee consumption beneficial or detrimental to health?
The answer remains ambiguous. The GWAS, which examined 130,153 U.S.-based 23andMe research participants and a corresponding UK Biobank database of 334,649 Britons, found consistent positive genetic correlations between coffee and adverse health outcomes such as obesity and substance use.
A positive genetic association refers to a link between a specific gene variant (genotype) and a particular condition (phenotype). Conversely, a negative genetic association suggests a protective effect against a condition. The results become even more complex when psychiatric conditions are considered.
Data Comparison and Cultural Divergences
Thorpe points out the genetic correlation between coffee intake and psychiatric conditions like anxiety, bipolar disorder, and depression. “In the 23andMe dataset, these conditions tend to have a positive genetic correlation with coffee intake. However, in the UK Biobank, we observed the opposite, with negative genetic correlations. This was unexpected.”
Thorpe further highlighted that while there were other inconsistencies between the 23andMe and UK Biobank datasets, the most significant disparity lay in psychiatric conditions.
“In this field, it’s common to merge similar datasets to enhance study power. This scenario made it evident that combining these datasets was unwise. We refrained from doing so because it could obscure or even negate certain effects, leading to erroneous conclusions.”
Sanchez-Roige and her colleagues speculated on the reasons behind these differences. One possible explanation is the discrepancy in the survey questions.
The 23andMe survey inquired, “How many 5-ounce servings of caffeinated coffee do you consume daily?” In contrast, the UK Biobank survey asked, “How many cups of coffee do you drink daily? (Include decaffeinated coffee.)”
Beyond the differences in serving size and the inclusion of decaf, the surveys did not account for the variety in how coffee is served. “In the UK, instant coffee is more popular, whereas ground coffee is preferred in the U.S.,” Thorpe noted.
Sanchez-Roige also mentioned the American penchant for sugary coffee drinks like frappuccinos. Palmer added that other caffeinated beverages, particularly tea in the UK context, were not included in the GWAS, which focused solely on coffee.
Palmer emphasized that the GWAS reveals that the relationship between genotype and phenotype is more distinct when comparing coffee and tea consumption.
“Genetics influences numerous aspects of life, such as height,” Palmer said. “These traits would likely manifest similarly, whether you lived in the U.S. or the U.K. However, coffee consumption is a choice influenced by cultural and environmental factors.”
The Interplay of Genetics and Environment
Sanchez-Roige emphasized that coffee consumption varies by form—whether instant or frappuccino—and is influenced by cultural norms, which differ from one region to another.
A person with a particular genotype may exhibit a different phenotype depending on whether they live in the U.K. or the U.S.
“That’s precisely what our data suggests,” she explained. “Unlike height, which is less influenced by behavior, coffee consumption involves choices shaped by the environment. The interplay between genotype and environment complicates the overall picture.”
The researchers stressed the need for further investigation to unravel the complex relationships between genetics and environment, not just in coffee consumption but also in other substance use behaviors.
Coffee Health Effects Genetics
Reference
“Genome-wide association studies of coffee intake in UK/US participants of European ancestry uncover cohort-specific genetic associations” by Hayley H. A. Thorpe, Pierre Fontanillas, Benjamin K. Pham, John J. Meredith, Mariela V. Jennings, Natasia S. Courchesne-Krak, Laura Vilar-Ribó, Sevim B. Bianchi, Julian Mutz, 23andMe Research Team, Sarah L. Elson, Jibran Y. Khokhar, Abdel Abdellaoui, Lea K. Davis, Abraham A. Palmer, and Sandra Sanchez-Roige, published June 11, 2024, in Neuropsychopharmacology. DOI: 10.1038/s41386-024-01870-x
Co-authors from UC San Diego include Benjamin K. Pham, John J. Meredith, Mariela V. Jennings, Natasia S. Courchesne-Krak, and Sevim B. Bianchi, all from the Department of Psychiatry.
Other contributors are Pierre Fontanillas of 23andMe, Inc.; Laura Vilar-Ribó of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain; Julian Mutz of King’s College London, U.K.; Sarah L. Elson and Jibran Y. Khokhar of the University of Guelph, Canada; Abdel Abdellaoui of the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Lea K. Davis of Vanderbilt University Medical Center; and the 23andMe Research Team.
Funding for Mariela V. Jennings, Sevim B. Bianchi, and Sandra Sanchez-Roige was provided by the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP; Grant Number T29KT0526 and T32IR5226). Sevim B. Bianchi and Abraham Palmer also received support from P50DA037844. Additional funding was provided by NIH/NIDA DP1DA054394 to BKP, Julian Mutz, and Sandra Sanchez-Roige. Hayley H. A. Thorpe received support through a Natural Science and Engineering Research Council PGS-D scholarship and a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Fellowship. Jibran Y. Khokhar is supported by a CIHR Canada Research Chair in Translational Neuropsychopharmacology. Lea K. Davis is funded by R01 MH113362. Natasia S. Courchesne-Krak received funding from an Interdisciplinary Research Fellowship in NeuroAIDs (Grant Number R25MH081482). Julian Mutz received funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre at South London Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London.
The datasets utilized for the PheWAS and LabWAS analyses were sourced from Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s BioVU, supported by various funding sources, including NIH-funded Shared Instrumentation Grant S10RR025141 and CTSA grants UL1TR002243, UL1TR000445, and UL1RR024975.
Genomic data were also backed by investigator-led projects such as U01HG004798, R01NS032830, RC2GM092618, P50GM115305, U01HG006378, U19HL065962, R01HD074711, along with additional funding detailed at Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s BioVU Funding.
The PheWAS and LabWAS analyses were supported by the National Center for Research Resources, Grant UL1 RR024975-01, now at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Grant 2 UL1 TR000445-06.
Coffee Health Effects Genetics
