Coffee: advice for our vice?

Evidence • Largest cohort study: 402 260 people in the United States, aged 50 to 71 years, followed for 14 years.1 -Increased coffee consumption was associated with increased mortality, but results were confounded by smoking, inactivity, alcohol consumption, and poor diet. -After adjusting for confounders, coffee drinkers (compared with nondrinkers) had a significant (P < .001) decrease in overall mortality: a relative reduction of about 10% for men and 15% for women for ≥ 2 cups/d. -Cardiovascular (CV) events (including stroke) and accidents decreased, but cancer rates were unchanged. -Most coffee consumed was caffeinated, ground coffee. • Multiple cohort studies2-6 in different populations, ages, and subgroups (eg, diabetes) had similar findings. -Some cohort studies7-9 did not find health benefits with coffee consumption, but the studies were often smaller.7,8