However, 24% of patients with PSC had never drunk coffee compared with 16% of controls (P < .05), and only 67% were current drinkers compared with 77% of controls (P < .05). Patients with PSC also consumed fewer lifetime cups per month (45 vs 47 for controls, P < .05) and spent a smaller percentage of their lifetime drinking coffee (46.6% vs 66.7% for controls, P < .05). These differences remained significant in a multivariate model. Among PSC patients with concurrent ulcerative colitis, coffee protected against proctocolectomy (hazard ratio, 0.34; P < .001).

Furthermore, drugs targeting the gut-liver axis (e.g. intregrin blockers such as vedolizumab, antibiotics) appear promising, based on the close link of PSC to inflammatory bowel disease and the emerging relevance of the gut microbiome for the development of PSC.

African American PSC ∼60% Median age for listing for liver transplantation ∼40 years 5:4 None