Drinking four or more cups of coffee a day may help prevent gout, according to a new study.

To examine how coffee consumption might aggravate or protect against gout, the most prevalent inflammatory arthritis in adult males, a team of U.S. and Canadian researchers conducted a prospective study on 45,869 men over age 40 with no history of gout at baseline.

Over 12 years of follow-up, the researchers evaluated the relationship between the intake of coffee and the incidence of gout in this high risk population.

To assess coffee and total caffeine intake, the researchers used a food-frequency questionnaire, updated every 4 years. Participants chose from 9 frequency responses -- ranging from never to 2 to 4 cups per week to 6 or more per day -- to record their average consumption of coffee, decaffeinated coffee, tea, and other caffeine-containing comestibles, such as cola and chocolate.

Through another questionnaire, the researchers documented 757 newly diagnosed cases meeting the American College of Rheumatology criteria for gout during the follow-up period.

Then, they determined the relative risk of incident gout for long-term coffee drinkers divided into 4 groups - less than 1 cup per day, 1 to 3 cups per day, 4 to 5 cups per day, and 6 or more cups per day - as well as for regular drinkers of decaffeinated coffee, tea, and other caffeinated beverages.

The findings show that among its complex effects on the body, coffee or its components have been linked to lower insulin and uric acid levels on a short-term basis or cross-sectionally, said the study by

These and other mechanisms suggest that coffee consumption may affect the risk of gout.

Most significantly, the data revealed that the risk for developing gout decreased with increasing coffee consumption. The risk of gout was 40 percent lower for men who drank 4 to 5 cups a day and 59 percent lower for men who drank 6 or more cups a day than for men who never drank coffee.

The findings were published in the June 2007 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Source: Xinhua