OBJECTIVE -Coffee consumption is associated with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, but the mechanism is not clearly understood. Elevated C-peptide, as a marker of insulin secretion, has been linked to insulin-resistant type 2 diabetes. In this study, we examined consumption of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and total caffeine in relation to concentrations of plasma C-peptide.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -Plasma C-peptide concentrations were measured in a cross-sectional setting among 2,112 healthy women from the Nurses' Health Study I who provided blood samples in 1989 -1990. Consumption of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and total caffeine was assessed using a semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire in 1990.RESULTS -Intakes of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and caffeine in 1990 were each inversely associated with C-peptide concentration in age-adjusted, BMI-adjusted, and multivariable-adjusted analyses. In multivariable analysis, concentrations of C-peptide were 16% less in women who drank Ͼ4 cups/day of caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee compared with nondrinkers (P Ͻ 0.005 for each). Women in the highest quintile compared with the lowest quintile of caffeine intake had 10% lower C-peptide levels (P ϭ 0.02). We did not find any association between tea and C-peptide. The inverse association between caffeinated coffee and C-peptide was considerably stronger in obese (27% reduction) and overweight women (20% reduction) than in normal weight women (11% reduction) (P ϭ 0.005).CONCLUSIONS -Our findings suggest a potential reduction of insulin secretion by coffee in women. This reduction may be related to other components in coffee rather than caffeine.
Diabetes Care 28:1390 -1396, 2005C offee intake has been associated with a reduction in the risk of type 2 diabetes (1-4). Because of its widespread consumption, understanding the relationship between coffee intake and insulin secretion may have implications in the prevention and treatment of diabetes.In contrast, short-term studies have consistently shown that acute administration of caffeine induces insulin resistance and impairs glucose tolerance (3,5,6). Longterm effects of caffeine and other components of coffee, which may be more relevant on insulin secretion, have been less well studied. In a recent crosssectional study of 936 elderly men without diabetes, coffee was associated with increased insulin sensitivity but not with decreased secretion (7). However, this study did not distinguish between caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, did not study women, and measured only the early insulin response under glucose stimulation.C-peptide is cleaved from proinsulin and released into the bloodstream in equivalent amounts with insulin (8). Increased C-peptide has been associated with insulin resistance and diabetes (9), cardiovascular disease (10), and colon cancer (11). According to the National Coffee Association, 54% of adults in the U.S. drank coffee in 2000, with average per capita daily consumption of 1.9 cups for men and 1.4 cups for women...