Coffee and your genes

Are you a coffee drinker? In a world that has a million lines of demarcation and separation coffee drinking divides us neatly down the middle; you are either a coffee drinker or you are not (and neither camp really understands the other). Within the coffee drinking fraternity of course, there are further shades of grey (or should that be brown?). There are the latte sippers and the long black guzzlers, the “with sugar” and the “don’t adulterate it” crowds, and some will look for a cup of java every few hours while others will make do with one cup to start the day. Trying to explain these differences is the basis of lengthy thesis in personality psychology but at least one aspect might come down to your genes. In a new study it has been shown that the presence or absence of a variation in your genes determines how many cups of coffee you will have a day.

The new study involved an analysis of genetic data from more than 1,200 Italians from northern and southern Italy. As well as providing genetic data the subjects completed surveys that indicated how many cups of coffee they drank each day.

The analysis revealed that people who had a variation in the PDSS2 gene drank an average one cup less of coffee per day compared to people who did not have that PDSS2 variation.

Just in case this was all an Italo-café-gene phenomenon a further study on 1,700 subjects from the Netherlands showed the same results although the relationship between the PDSS2 gene and coffee consumption was not quite as strong in the Netherlands as it was in Italy. The researchers thought the explanation for the differing strength of connection might be in the way coffee is consumed in the two countries.

In Italy coffee is usually drunk in smaller cups as espresso while in the Netherlands it tends to be consumed in larger cups that contain more caffeine. So cup differences will be less pronounced in the Netherlands as the “cup” there is a less precise measure, if you like, than in Italy.

The researchers explain that the genetic effect can be explained by the fact that the PDSS2 gene reduces the body’s ability to break down caffeine which means that it remains active for longer in your body and that in turn means you don’t crave a coffee quite as soon.

It’s not news that will change your coffee consumption but it might explain it.

Source: Scientific Reports