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Increased consumption of coffee and marijuana may sharply reduce the risk for early death from hepatitis C infection, researchers have found.
The study of more than 1,200 patients with HCV and HIV found that those who drank the most coffee and used marijuana regularly or daily had more than a 60% lower risk for death from the infection over a five-year period.
How cannabis in particular might reduce mortality is unclear, but the researchers, led by Maria-Patrizia Carrieri, PhD, of the Université Aix Marseille, in France, noted that the substance has been previously associated with a reduced risk for insulin resistance and steatosis, two conditions that could increase mortality in patients with HCV.
“These results confirm the benefits of elevated coffee consumption and highlight the protective role of regular cannabis use on HCV mortality risk,” Dr. Carrieri’s group reported. She and her colleagues presented the findings at the 2018 International Liver Congress (abstract THU-048).