Angela Soares¹, Katharina Gleiss², Sydney Schorb², Taís de S. Lopes¹, Verônica Calado³, Amanda G. T. Vanzan¹, Tatiana S. F. Cardozo¹, Cristiana P. M. Porto¹, Dirk W. Lachenmeier^2,, Adriana Farah^1,

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified “very hot beverages” (consumed above 65°C) as “probably carcinogenic to humans” (group 2A) due to chronic thermal injury to the esophageal mucosa. In Brazil, coffee is the most consumed food product and is typically consumed hot. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to measure the serving and drinking temperatures of coffee beverages in Rio de Janeiro and Petropolis, two locations in the state of Rio de Janeiro with different altitudes, climates, and mean annual temperatures (23.6 and 19.7°C, respectively), as a basis for risk assessment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and development of educational programs in these places.A total of 703 coffee beverages were evaluated, including 498 in Rio de Janeiro and 205 in Petropolis. Serving temperatures and preferred drinking temperatures were assessed. Serving temperatures ranged from 50.5 to 94.5°C (mean 73.8 ± 8.5°C) in Rio and from 52.4 to 87.7°C (mean 71.7 ± 7.9°C) in Petropolis, with Rio having higher temperatures than Petropolis (p=0.003). In Rio, 26% of consumers drank coffee at temperatures ≥65°C, and 9% drank coffee at temperatures ≥70°C. In Petropolis, 60% of consumers drank coffee at temperatures ≥65°C, and 19% drank coffee at temperatures ≥70°C. Participants who had smoked for four years or more generally preferred higher temperatures (p<0.05), but no association was found with education level. The average temperature of coffee consumption in Petropolis, which is close to the IARC limit, may increase the risk of developing esophageal cancer in the long term, as indicated by the higher number of cancer cases compared to Rio. Further studies are needed to investigate the causality of this association.

hot beverages, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, cancer, Rio de Janeiro, Petropolis