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Review
. 2016 Dec 28;15(1):103.
doi: 10.1186/s12937-016-0220-7.

Acute caffeine ingestion reduces insulin sensitivity in healthy subjects: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Xiuqin Shi  1 , Wenhua Xue  1 , Shuhong Liang  1 , Jie Zhao  2 , Xiaojian Zhang  3
Affiliations
Review

Acute caffeine ingestion reduces insulin sensitivity in healthy subjects: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Xiuqin Shi et al. Nutr J. .

Abstract

Background: According to previous meta-analyses, coffee consumption reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. Whether caffeine, the key ingredient in coffee, has a beneficial effect on the glycemic homeostasis and the anti-diabetic effect is particularly controversial. The aim of this study was to summarize the effect of acute caffeine ingestion on insulin sensitivity in healthy men.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search for papers published before April 2016 was conducted in EMBASE, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the effect of caffeine on insulin sensitivity in healthy humans without diabetes were included. A random effects meta-analysis was conducted using Review Manager 5.3.

Results: The search yielded 7 RCTs in which caffeine intake was the single variant. Compared with placebo, caffeine intake significantly decreased the insulin sensitivity index, with a standardized mean difference of -2.06 (95% confidence interval -2.67 to -1.44, I2 = 49%, P for heterogeneity = 0.06).

Conclusion: Acute caffeine ingestion reduces insulin sensitivity in healthy subjects. Thus, in the short term, caffeine might shift glycemic homeostasis toward hyperglycemia. Long-term trials investigating the role of caffeine in the anti-diabetic effect of coffee are needed.

Keywords: Caffeine; Diabetes; Insulin sensitivity; Risk factor.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Selection process of the identified articles
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Risk of bias assessment tool: (a) risk of bias graph; (b) risk of bias summary. Across trials, information is either from trials at a low risk of bias (green), at an unclear risk of bias (yellow), or at a high risk of bias (red)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Forest plot showing the pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for insulin sensitivity for 7 randomized controlled trials. For each study of caffeine, the shaded square represents the point estimate of the intervention effect. The horizontal line joins the lower and upper limits of the 95% CI of these effects. The area of the shaded square reflects the relative weight of the study in the respective meta-analysis. The diamond at the bottom of the graph represents the pooled SMD with the 95% CI for the seven trials. Experimental: caffeine group; Control: control group; I2: Inconsistency
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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