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Diabetes Care 31:221-222, 2008
DOI: 10.2337/dc07-1112
© 2008 by the American Diabetes Association
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Clinical Care/Education/Nutrition/Psychosocial Research |
Caffeine Increases Ambulatory Glucose and Postprandial Responses in Coffee Drinkers With Type 2 Diabetes
Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
Address correspondence and reprint requests to James D. Lane, PhD, Box 3830, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710-0001. E-mail: james.lane{at}duke.edu
Abbreviations: CGMS, continuous glucose monitoring system
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INTRODUCTION |
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 TOP INTRODUCTION RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--RESULTS--CONCLUSIONS--References |
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Recent laboratory studies demonstrated that caffeine exaggerates glucose and insulin responses to standardized carbohydrate loads in habitual coffee drinkers who have type 2 diabetes (1–3). Similar postprandial effects in everyday life could disrupt clinical efforts to maintain glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a moderate dose of caffeine on glucose levels and postprandial glucose responses in free-living coffee drinkers with type 2 diabetes. We specifically predicted that caffeine administration would increase glucose concentrations during the day and exaggerate the glucose increases that followed meals when habitual coffee drinkers with type 2 diabetes were monitored during everyday life.
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RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS— |
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TOPINTRODUCTIONRESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--RESULTS--CONCLUSIONS--References |
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The research protocol, approved by the Duke University Health Systems institutional review board, employed a double-blind crossover design to compare the effects of a moderate dose of caffeine (500 mg/day) with that of a placebo control. Subjects completed informed consent before testing and received $150.00 in compensation. The study group included 10 habitual coffee drinkers (five men and five women) who drank brewed coffee daily. All had at least a 6-month history of type 2 diabetes managed by a stable regimen of diet, exercise, and oral agents but no exogenous insulin. Subjects were free of major medical disorders, were nonsmokers, and used no psychotropic medications known to affect glucose metabolism. Age (mean ± SD) was 63 ± 13 years, BMI 31.9 ± 5.6 kg/m2, and A1C 6.4 ± 0.5%. Daily caffeine intake was 520 ± 419 mg/day, based on conversion of self-reported beverage consumption using standard estimates for caffeine content.
Ambulatory glucose concentration was assessed with the validated MiniMed continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS; Medtronic MiniMed, Northridge, CA) (4). The CGMS provides 288 continuous, 5-min average measurements of interstitial glucose each day using a subcutaneous microelectrode sensor. The CGMS can operate for up to 72 h to provide detailed information about trends over time that can be used to evaluate responses to meals and other events.
Caffeine and placebo treatments were administered on different study days in identical gelatin capsules containing 125 mg anhydrous caffeine plus dextrose filler or dextrose alone. The total caffeine dose (500 mg) was divided as described below. The order of caffeine and placebo treatments was counterbalanced within the group. Subjects consumed no other caffeine on study days.
The CGMS sensor was inserted subcutaneously into the lower abdomen on the day before the first study day. Subjects received coded packets of capsules for the two subsequent study days. Subjects consumed two capsules containing either caffeine (250 mg total) or placebo at breakfast and two more of the same capsules at lunch. Subjects consumed a standard breakfast, consisting of 16 oz. (473 ml) of Boost Plus, which provided 90 g carbohydrate in a 720-kcal liquid meal. Lunch and dinner were ingested ad libitum, although subjects were instructed to consume a similar diet on both days. Subjects recorded the time of each meal and the foods consumed, along with medications taken. Subjects were instructed to carry out normal activities but to avoid strenuous exercise on the study days. The glucose sensor was removed on the day after the second study day.
The CGMS system recorded glucose values continuously for 
72 h. The two 24-h study days were defined beginning at 6 A.M. on the second and third days of monitoring, and overnight glucose values were associated with the prior study day. Recorded mealtimes were used to anchor the 3-h postprandial glucose response assessments. Continuous glucose values were analyzed using a hierarchical linear model to test the effects of treatment in these repeated measures (PROC Mixed, version 9.1; SAS Institute, Cary, NC). Given the sequential nature of the data, an autoregressive error structure was used.
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RESULTS— |
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TOPINTRODUCTIONRESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--RESULTS--CONCLUSIONS--References |
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Average 24-h interstitial glucose concentration curves for the caffeine and placebo days are shown in Fig. 1. Planned analyses focused on daytime glucose levels (when caffeine was present in pharmacologically active concentrations) and postprandial responses to meals. Testing revealed that caffeine increased average levels of daytime glucose (6 A.M.–10 P.M.) compared with those associated with placebo (8.0 vs. 7.4 mmol/l, P < 0.0001). Average glucose concentrations were also elevated (P < 0.0001) in the 3 hours following the standardized breakfast (8.7 vs. 8.0 mmol/l), lunch (7.8 vs. 6.8 mmol/l), and dinner (8.6 vs. 6.8 mmol/l) on the days that caffeine was consumed. Testing revealed no difference in the effect of caffeine across the three meals.
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CONCLUSIONS— |
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TOPINTRODUCTIONRESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--RESULTS--CONCLUSIONS--References |
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Caffeine had adverse effects on glucose metabolism, producing higher average daytime glucose concentrations and exaggerated postprandial glucose responses in these free-living diabetic patients. These results complement the findings of earlier studies in which caffeine exaggerated glucose and insulin responses to a carbohydrate challenge in the laboratory (1–3).
The mechanisms of action that account for these effects are uncertain at this time. Caffeine could directly inhibit glucose uptake in adipocytes and skeletal muscle through antagonism of adenosine receptors (5,6). Alternatively, caffeine could act indirectly through increased release of epinephrine, which has widespread counter-regulatory effects on glucose metabolism (7).
Although tests of overnight glucose levels were not planned, Fig. 1 suggests that caffeine exposure may have reduced overnight glucose levels compared with placebo (caffeine abstinence). This possibility will be the subject of future studies.
Similar hyperglycemic effects could occur whenever type 2 diabetic patients consume caffeine in daily life. These adverse effects were observed in habitual coffee drinkers, who had sufficient opportunity to develop tolerance to the drug. The caffeine dose administered in this study is roughly equivalent to four 8-oz cups of brewed coffee, a moderate amount consistent with intake reported by these subjects. The presence of hyperglycemic effects in these free-living individuals raises concerns about the potential hazards of caffeinated beverages for patients with type 2 diabetes. Repeated episodes of elevated glucose resulting from daily consumption of caffeinated beverages could impair clinical efforts aimed at glucose control and increase risk of diabetes complications.
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Footnotes |
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Published ahead of print at http://care.diabetesjournals.org on 31 October 2007. DOI: 10.2337/dc07-1112.
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
Received for publication June 12, 2007. Accepted for publication October 22, 2007.
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References |
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TOPINTRODUCTIONRESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--RESULTS--CONCLUSIONS--References |
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- Lane JD, Barkauskas CE, Surwit RS, Feinglos MN: Caffeine impairs glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 27: 2047–2048, 2004
[Free Full Text] - Robinson LE, Savani S, Battram DS, McLaren DH, Sathasivam P, Graham TE: Caffeine ingestion before an oral glucose tolerance test impairs blood glucose management in men with type 2 diabetes. J Nutr 134: 2528–2533, 2004
[Abstract/Free Full Text] - Lane JD, Hwang AL, Feinglos MN, Surwit RS: Caffeine in coffee exaggerates postprandial hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes. Endocr Pract 13: 239–243, 2007[Medline]
- Gross TM, Mastrototaro JJ: Efficacy and reliability of the continuous glucose monitoring system. Diabetes Technol Ther 2: S19–S26, 2000[Medline]
- Crist GH, Xu B, Lanoue KF, Lang CH: Tissue-specific effects of in vivo adenosine receptor blockade on glucose uptake in Zucker rats. FASEB J 12: 1301–1308, 1998
[Abstract/Free Full Text] - Han DH, Hansen PA, Nolte LA, Holloszy JO: Removal of adenosine decreases the responsiveness of muscle glucose transport to insulin and contractions. Diabetes 47: 1671–1675, 1998[Medline]
- Thong FSL, Graham TE: Caffeine-induced impairment of glucose tolerance is abolished by beta-adrenergic receptor blockade in humans. J Appl Physiol 92: 2347–2352, 2002
[Abstract/Free Full Text]
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