COFFEE USE PRIOR TO MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION RESTUDIED - HEAVIER INTAKE MAY INCREASE THE RISK

Because of conflicting evidence about the relation of coffee use to coronary artery disease, the authors conducted a new cohort study of hospitalizations among 101,774 white persons and black persons admitted to Kaiser Permanente hospitals in northern California in 1978-1986. In analyses controlled for eight covariates, use of coffee was associated with higher risk of myocardial infarction (p=0.0002). Compared with nondrinkers of coffee, the following relative risks (RRs) were found: at 1-3 cups/day, RR=1.14 (95% confidence interval (Cl) 0.91-1.42); at 4-6 cups/day, RR=1.42 (Cl 1.10-1.84), p=0.007; and at >6 cups/day, RR=1.41 (Cl 1.00-1.99), p=0.05. The relation remained significant when also controlled for blood cholesterol, blood glucose, blood pressure, and adiposity, singly or combined. Tea use was unrelated to myocardial infarction; neither coffee nor tea was related to other coronary diagnoses. Although causality remains unestablished and uncertainty remains, the authors conclude that 1) these data suggest a weak independent relation of coffee use to acute myocardial infarction, not mediated by an effect on blood cholesterol; and 2) persons at risk of myocardial infarction should consider limitation of coffee intake to <4 cups/day. © 1990 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health.