13-Year Study Gives More Good News to the Livers of Coffee Drinkers
Daily Coffee News Staff| August 20, 2026 A major new study involving more than 350,000 participants over 13 years adds fresh evidence linking coffee consumption to better liver health. The study, led by researchers atCedars-Sinai Health Sciences Universityin Los Angeles and published July 1 inClinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, analyzed data from 354,957UK Biobankparticipants who had no cirrhosis or liver cancer at enrollment and were tracked for a median of 13 years. Compared with non-coffee drinkers, participants drinking five or more cups per day had a 32% lower risk of developing cirrhosis, a 47% lower risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, a common form of liver cancer, and a 42% lower risk of dying from liver disease. Benefits appeared at lower intake levels too. The researchers noted associations starting at one to two cups per day, with the strongest associations appearing around three to four cups. “Previous studies suggested that coffee might benefit the liver, but most were smaller or looked at only one piece of the puzzle,” Hyunseok Kim, assistant professor of medicine at Cedars-Sinai and corresponding author of the study, said in an announcement from the university. “We followed hundreds of thousands of people for more than a decade and looked at their health outcomes along with liver MRI scans and blood protein analyses. Together, those findings help explain the biological mechanisms behind coffee’s association with better liver health.” Caffeine, Sweeteners and Lifestyles MRI scans in a subgroup of 28,961 participants showed that heavier coffee drinkers had lower levels of liver fat, iron, fibrosis and inflammation on imaging. Blood protein analysis involving 44,633 participants showed higher levels of proteins associated with healthy liver function and lower levels associated with scarring and inflammation. Similar protective associations appeared for both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, a finding that points away from caffeine as the
Daily Coffee News Staff| August 20, 2026 A major new study involving more than 350,000 participants over 13 years adds fresh evidence linking coffee consumption to better liver health.
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