Coffee can raise heart disease risk

Press, 29 June 1983, Page 8

Coffee can raise heart disease risk

Drinking large amounts of coffee doubles the risk of heart disease, according to a study in • the “New England Journal of Medicine.” The study, which surveyed 14,667 Norwegians, found that heavy coffee drinkers tended to have the highest cholesterol levels, making them more likely to have a heart attack. “The magnitude of the cholesterol-raising effect,” the three researchers wrote, “suggests at least a two-fold increase in the risk of coronary heart disease.” The research team, all physicians from Norway’s University of Tromso, used a questionnaire and blood samples to reach their conclusions. Cholesterol levels were six per cent higher in men who drank one-to-four cups of coffee each day, compared with men who drank less than a cup. The cholesterol levels were 12 per cent higher in peple _ who drank nine or more cups daily. The increases were nearly as great for women. The Norwegian doctors said they were surprised

when the link between coffee and higher cholesterol levels first appeared in their surveys. But the more they looked at the data, the more they became convinced they had stumbled on to something significant. “The association is strong and consistent and its magnitude makes coffee one of the strongest determinants of serum cholesterol levels in the present population,” they wrote. They also said they have unpublished data from studies of 40,000 other Norwegian people that show similar trends. The team, led by Dr Dag Thelle, cautioned that their results may not be directly applicable to Americans because Norwegians are heavy coffee drinkers and they drink it black. In addition, they do not drink decaffeinated coffee, which is virtually non-exis-tent in Norway, and they boil their coffee rather than use instant or drip coffee. The study did not indicate whether any of those differences might be important.