Coffee consumption may 'potentially increase risk of developing CKD: Study

"A large body of scientific evidence has suggested that consuming a moderate amount of coffee is consistent with a healthy diet. We were able to identify one metabolite that supports this theory," said Dr. Rebholz. "There were 2 other metabolites associated with coffee that surprisingly were associated with a higher risk of incident chronic kidney disease. These compounds were also associated with cigarette smoking, which may in part explain why these compounds were associated with higher risk of kidney disease."

With more research on the metabolic underpinnings of the coffee-kidney relationship, these metabolites may point to processes that are relevant for preventing kidney disease through dietary modifications.

An accompanying editorial notes that it would have been interesting to see how the study's results on metabolites associated with kidney disease after accounting for participants' self-reported consumption of coffee. "Integrating these data types should provide a better understanding of the role coffee and other diet factors play in the development of CKD or other diseases," the authors wrote.