Effect of decaffeinated versus regular coffee on serum lipoproteins. A 12-week double-blind trial

Reports on the association between caffeine intake and serum cholesterol are inconsistent. In 1988, the authors examined the effect of decaffeinated versus regular coffee on serum lipids in 45 healthy volunteers from the general population living in or near Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Twenty-three women and 22 men aged 25-45 years with a habitual intake of 4-6 cups of regular coffee per day participated in a randomized double-blind crossover trial. They received five cups of regular coffee each day for a period of 6 weeks and five cups of decaffeinated coffee for the next 6 weeks, or vice versa. The background diet was kept constant and was low in caffeine. Differences between the effects of decaffeinated and regular coffee on blood lipids were essentially zero; the effect on serum total cholesterol (+/- standard deviation) was 0.01 (+/- 0.36) mmol/liter (0 +/- 14 mg/dl), that on high density lipoprotein cholesterol was 0.01 (+/- 0.11) mmol/liter (0 +/- 4 mg/dl), and that on triglycerides was 0.03 (+/- 0.29) mmol/liter (3 +/- 26 mg/dl). It was concluded that, in healthy adults, replacement of regular coffee by decaffeinated coffee has no effect on serum cholesterol and lipoproteins.