For years, physicians have recommended that patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) avoid certain foods and beverages, especially those that are high in cholesterol, salt, fat, and caffeine. But the few studies that have looked at the link between drinking coffee and death have had conflicting results.

An international team of researchers, who published their results in the July 2011 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, set out to assess the association between filtered caffeinated coffee consumption and all-cause and CVD mortality. The authors assessed follow-up data over a 24-year period (1980-2004) in women with CVD from the Nurses’ Health Study. In 1980, coffee consumption was assessed in 11,697 women with a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The FFQ was repeated every 2 to 4 years, with follow-up ending in 2004.

Of 1,159 deaths observed among the study participants, 579 were due to CVD, according to the analysis. Here were the relative risks (RR) of all-cause mortality across categories of cumulative coffee consumption:

Coffee Consumption RR of All-Cause Mortality
<1 cup (240 mL or 8 oz) per month 1.00
1 cup per month to 4 cups per week 1.04
5-7 cups per week 1.13
2-3 cups per day 1.01
≥4 cups per day 1.18

The relative risks of CVD mortality across the same categories of coffee intake were:

Coffee Consumption RR of CVD Mortality
<1 cup (240 mL or 8 oz) per month 1.00
1 cup per month to 4 cups per week 0.99
5-7 cups per week 1.03
2-3 cups per day 0.97
≥4 cups per day 1.25

No association was seen between caffeine consumption and both total and CVD-related mortality.

View study abstract

Physician’s Weekly wants to know…

  • Based on these results, would you suggest to your female patients with CVD that it is safe for them to drink coffee? What about other caffeinated beverages? Why or why not?
  • Do you think similar results would be found among men? If so, would you suggest to your male patients with CVD that it is safe for them to drink coffee and other caffeinated beverages?

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