OBJECTIVE: This study determined the amount of coffee consumed, the preparation methods and the association between coffee intake and the serum lipid profile of diabetics and hypertensive individuals. METHODS: Interviews were done to collect demographic and lifestyle data and food intake. Blood was collected to determine serum lipid profiles and anthropometric characteristics were measured. Descriptive analysis and the Student's t-test, chi-square test and Pearson's linear correlation were used with p£0.05 to establish statistical significance. RESULTS: A total of 182 hypertensive and type-2 diabetic individuals who consumed coffee were evaluated and categorized according to the preparation method: Brazilian or boiled. The population had similar demographics, anthropometrics, lifestyles, food habits and serum lipid profiles. The per capita amount of powder ingested when the Brazilian preparation method (uses a filter) was used compared with boiling was M=7.52, SD=4.99g and M=7.91, SD=5.87g, respectively. In both groups, those levels were obtained in accordance with the estimated daily intake volume of the drink. The volume ingested by individuals in the "Brazilian" group and intake frequency were: M=517.3, SD=402.7mL and M=2.14, SD=1.06 times/day and in the "boiled" group: M=513.4, SD=409.8mL, and M=2.2 SD=0.94 times/day. There was no significant association between coffee intake and serum lipid profile. CONCLUSION: There was no association between coffee intake and serum lipid profile in the studied population, possibly because of the amount consumed and/or dilution used. If, on the one hand, the results do not allow us to discourage consumption in the amounts consumed by the studied population as a way to prevent cardiovascular disease, on the other hand, it is clear that this line of research requires further investigation.
Coffee; Cafestol; Cholesterol; Dyslipidemias; Kahweol; Serum lipid
