ABSTRACT

Objective:
Although coffee consumption is often reported as a trigger for atrial fibrillation (AF), prospective studies on the association between coffee consumption and AF risk have been inconsistent. Hence, we sought to assess the association between coffee consumption and risk of AF.

Methods:
We searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library up to November 30, 2025, without language restriction. We included cohort or nested case-control studies that enrolled participants with no AF history who did not drink coffee or had daily coffee consumption. The outcome was the risk of new-onset AF in participants with coffee consumption.

Results:
Overall, 9 observational cohorts were selected for this meta-analysis, comprising 704,121 individuals and 35,253 new-onset AF cases. The subgroup analysis showed a reduced new-onset AF risk among participants who drank coffee for less than or equal to 1 cup daily (RR: 0.96; 95%CI: 0.93-0.99), but no significant association with new-onset AF risk among those who drank 1-3 cups/d (RR: 0.95; 95%CI: 0.85-1.06), 3-5 cups/d (RR: 0.96; 95%CI: 0.91-1.02), ≥4 cups/d (RR: 0.89; 95%CI: 0.78-1.02), or ≥5 cups/d (RR: 0.93; 95%CI: 0.86-1.02). Compared with the lowest level of coffee intake, the overall estimate of the highest coffee consumption in the included studies also showed that ≥4 cups/d were not significantly associated with reduced risk of new-onset AF (RR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.89-1.02). In addition, this result was consistent across men (RR: 1.05; 95% CI: 0.97-1.14) and women (RR: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.80-1.04).

Conclusion:
Daily coffee consumption of 1 cup or less can reduce the risk of new-onset AF. However, higher coffee consumption is not associated with the risk of new-onset AF.

‍