The Effect of Coffee Consumption on the Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus: The 2012-2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

An inverse association between coffee consumption and the risk of diabetes mellitus (DM) has been observed. However, little is known about this association in Koreans, although they are now among the top global consumers of coffee. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the prevalence of DM and the amount of coffee consumption using a unit of exact measurement, regardless of the type of coffee consumed. This study was based on data acquired from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2012-2016. The participants who completed the survey were included in the statistical analysis (n = 14,578). Subjects were stratified by age (19-39 years old: young adult; 40-64 years old: middle-aged adult) and gender (men, women). The amount of coffee was measured using a teaspoon (tsp) unit corresponding to 5 mL of powdered coffee and was analyzed as a continuous variable. The mean powdered coffee intake per day was 1.97 tsp in women groups, 2.24 tsp in young adult men, and 2.72 tsp in middle-aged men. The frequency of coffee consumption showed an inverse relationship with the amount of coffee intake at a time. With each 1-tsp increment in daily coffee intake, the odds of DM were 0.89 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.86-0.92, p < 0.001) and 0.93 (95% CI: 0.90-0.95, p = 0.003) in middle-aged women and men, respectively. Coffee consumption was inversely correlated with the prevalence of DM even with adjustment for covariates in middle-aged adults. We delineated that the prevalence for DM decreased as coffee intake increased in Korean middle-aged adults. Therefore, our data represented an inverse association between coffee consumption and the prevalence of DM, although Koreans have a unique coffee-drinking habit.