THE RELATIONSHIP OF COFFEE CONSUMPTION TO VARIOUS SELF-REPORTED CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS IN MIDDLE-AGED NORWEGIAN MEN AND WOMEN

The association between number of cups of coffee consumed per day and self-reported heart infarction, angina pectoris, or symptoms of angina pectoris was studied in 11635 men and 11785 women, aged 40-54 years, who attended two cardiovascular screenings. Questionnaire information on heart infarction has previously been found to be reliable. Altogeth er 240, 201 and 241 men reported heart infarction, angina pectoris (wi thout heart infarction) and symptoms of angina pectoris, respectively, at the last, but not at the first screening. The corresponding figure s for women were 35, 102 and 395. Univariate analysis showed a positiv e association between number of cups of coffee and self-reported heart infarction. The same applies to self-reported angina pectoris. After adjustment for major coronary risk factors, the associations became we aker. The relative risks of self-reported heart infarction between use rs of nine or more cups and users of less than one cup were 1.7 (95% C I: 1.0, 3.0) and 1.5 (0.3, 7.5) in men and women, respectively. The re lative risks were smaller than those found in a previous study relatin g coffee consumption to coronary heart disease mortality. For self-rep orted angina pectoris the corresponding relative risks were 1.4 (0.8, 2.7) for men and 2.7 (1.1, 6.7) for women. The study is suggestive of a modest relationship between coffee consumption and self-reported occ urrence of both heart infarction and angina pectoris.