MUNICH—Prognosis following an acute MI may be better for people who drink more coffee on a regular basis.
The mechanism for the observed inverse relationship between usual coffee intake and mortality after MI remains unknown. It doesn't appear to involve lipid levels or inflammatory biomarkers, according to Dr. Imre Janszky of the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm.
She reported on 1,369 participants in the Swedish Heart Epidemiology Program (SHEEP) study, all of whom had a confirmed first acute MI during 1992–1994. They reported their customary coffee consumption during the preceding 12 months using a standardized questionnaire that they completed during their hospitalization.
During a mean follow-up of 8 years, 21% of patients died. In a multivariate analysis adjusted for numerous potential confounders, coffee consumption showed a strong inverse relationship to mortality, Dr. Janszky reported at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.
Patients who reported a usual coffee consumption of at least 1 and less than 3 cups daily had an adjusted 32% lower risk of mortality than did those who quaffed less than 1 cup per day. Those who drank at least 3 and less than 5 cups daily had a 48% risk reduction. And those who reported consuming 7 or more cups of coffee had a 42% reduction in mortality, compared with patients who drank less than a cup a day.
Coffee consumption bore no relationship to rates of hospitalization for stroke or heart failure.
The SHEEP study was supported by the Swedish Council for Social Research and the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research.