Acute effects of coffee consumption in adults

Editor's Note

This prospective randomized trial by researchers at the University of California San Francisco  examines the health effects of coffee consumption on cardiac ectopy and arrhythmias, daily step counts, sleep minutes, and serum glucose levels.

A total of 100 adults were fitted with a continuously recording electrocardiogram device, a wrist-worn accelerometer, and a continuous glucose monitor.

Consumption of caffeinated coffee was associated with:

• 58 daily premature atrial contractions vs 53 when caffeine was avoided
• 154 daily premature ventricular contractions vs 102
• 10,646 daily steps vs 9,665
• 397 minutes of nightly sleep vs 432
• serum glucose levels of 95 mg per deciliter vs 96 mg.

The researchers concluded that the consumption of caffeinated coffee did not result in significantly more daily premature atrial contractions (the primary outcome) than the avoidance of caffeine.