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posted by martyb on Thursday July 22 2021, @04:29AM   Printer-friendly

Researchers Find No Link between Habitual Coffee Consumption and Arrhythmia:

In a large, prospective, population-based community cohort study of 386,258 coffee drinkers, greater amounts of habitual coffee consumption were inversely associated with a lower risk of cardiac arrhythmia; in fact, each additional daily cup of coffee was associated with a 3% reduced risk of developing an arrhythmia; these associations were not significantly modified by genetic variants that affect caffeine metabolism.

“Coffee is the primary source of caffeine for most people, and it has a reputation for causing or exacerbating arrhythmias,” said Professor Gregory Marcus, a researcher in the Division of Cardiology at the University of California, San Francisco.

“But we found no evidence that caffeine consumption leads to a greater risk of arrhythmias.”

“Our population-based study provides reassurance that common prohibitions against caffeine to reduce arrhythmia risk are likely unwarranted.”

[...] The higher amounts of coffee were actually associated with a 3% reduced risk of developing an arrhythmia.

“Only a randomized clinical trial can definitively demonstrate clear effects of coffee or caffeine consumption,” Professor Marcus said.

[...] “Coffee’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties may play a role, and some properties of caffeine could be protective against some arrhythmias.”

[Bolding in original removed.]

Journal Reference:
Eun-jeong Kim, Thomas J. Hoffmann, Gregory Nah, et al. Coffee Consumption and Incident Tachyarrhythmias, JAMA Internal Medicine (DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.3616)


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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @05:06AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @05:06AM (#1159036)

    I always feel medicine misses the point about performance enhancing drugs. Let's talk about the good stuff too - yeah, whatever, increased incontinence in 40 years. Fuck that! I want my Nobel Prize NOW.

  • (Score: 1, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @05:13AM (8 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @05:13AM (#1159040)

    1- Turkish (Arab) coffee
    2 - Espresso
    3 - French press coffee

    Honorable mention - sweet instant coffee mix from Korea.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @05:20AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @05:20AM (#1159044)

      The real list for coffee lovers:

      1. Meth
      2. Amphetamine
      3. Cocaine
      4. MDMA
      5. Psilocybin (low dose)
      6. Strong black espresso
      7. Everything else - might as well be urine

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @06:30PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @06:30PM (#1159177)

        i am baffled by your troll. congratulations!

    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday July 22 2021, @05:22AM (5 children)

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday July 22 2021, @05:22AM (#1159046) Journal

      Try the Brazilian cafezinho too.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 23 2021, @01:54AM (4 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 23 2021, @01:54AM (#1159309)

        Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk is pretty good, too.

        While Brazil produced the most arabica beans, Vietnam produces the most robusta beans.

        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday July 23 2021, @03:32AM (3 children)

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 23 2021, @03:32AM (#1159329) Journal

          Can't stand things that are too sweet.

          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 23 2021, @03:50AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 23 2021, @03:50AM (#1159331)

            Ok, boomer.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 23 2021, @07:59AM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 23 2021, @07:59AM (#1159370)

            What about things that are too bitter? (Hint: clue's in the question, italicized in bold)

            • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday July 23 2021, @08:23AM

              by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 23 2021, @08:23AM (#1159373) Journal

              Never had one.

              --
              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 2, Touché) by c0lo on Thursday July 22 2021, @05:14AM

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday July 22 2021, @05:14AM (#1159042) Journal

    ... died and were out of the study (large grin)

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by DrkShadow on Thursday July 22 2021, @05:20AM (2 children)

    by DrkShadow (1404) on Thursday July 22 2021, @05:20AM (#1159043)

    Standard health science, 95% confidence interval, ignoring any sub-groups. (I feel like I get hit by this failed confidence interval far too frequently.)

    They tested a huge group, of which <what> percent actually suffers arrhythmia? The conclusions state,

    Mendelian randomization failed to provide evidence that caffeine consumption was associated with arrhythmias.

    Notably, it says that a randomized sample of the entire group does not have arrhythmias caused by caffeine. Notably, it does not say that, for the subset up people who suffer from arrhythmias, caffeine consumption does not exasperate their arrhythmias. Only that in the general population, where there is not a statistically significant number of arrhythmias overall, it does not get statistically worse for different types of caffeine metabolism genes for the whole population. Great. Yeah. Thanks.

    "some properties of caffeine could be protective against some arrhythmias.”

    Lets just not use this as justification to recommend coffee to people who are saying that caffeine makes their arrhythmia worse.

    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @05:23AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @05:23AM (#1159047)

      But they used Mendelian randomization. And probably the F-statistic. And Bayesian priors. And mixed effects regression. How can you with your small words possibly trust your own lying eyes?

    • (Score: 2, Interesting) by shrewdsheep on Thursday July 22 2021, @09:57AM

      by shrewdsheep (5215) on Thursday July 22 2021, @09:57AM (#1159075)

      Notably, it says that a randomized sample of the entire group does not have arrhythmias caused by caffeine. Notably, it does not say that, for the subset up people who suffer from arrhythmias, caffeine consumption does not exasperate their arrhythmias.

      I have to disagree. Even if the outcome is arrhythmia yes/no (TLDR), the analysis would show whether arrhythmia's are worsened as the definition of arrhythmia needs to imply a cut-off for the yes/no classification based on some underlying quantitative measurement (e.g. ECG recordings). This implies that caffeine would push you above/below that threshold thereby changing your underlying quantitative arrhythmia propensity. If arrhythmia is quantified (e.g. # of arrhythmic episodes), it would more or less directly imply whether arrhythmia's have been worsened or not.

      The problematic part is the negative conclusion. The only conclusion possible is that the coffee effect is smaller than a certain value (given by the borders of the confidence interval).

  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @05:50AM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @05:50AM (#1159050)

    Caffeine is terrible whether it causes that particular problem or not. One of the significant but often overlooked health problems in developed countries is poor sleep. While overscheduling and late night activity contribute, caffeine is a major contributor as well. With a half life of about six hours, drinking any coffee after noon, more than one cup total a day, or a soda with dinner ensures that you will be trying to sleep while under the effects of a stimulant. On top of that, the body builds up a tolerance, so most regular coffee drinkers suffer the negative effects without any of the benefits.

    It's not as bad as tobacco, but it's not something that anyone should use.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @06:17AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @06:17AM (#1159052)

      Just use it after you wake up. You can get it inside you very quickly if you use a pill.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 23 2021, @08:02AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 23 2021, @08:02AM (#1159371)

        Even quicker with lube.

    • (Score: 2) by istartedi on Thursday July 22 2021, @06:29AM (2 children)

      by istartedi (123) on Thursday July 22 2021, @06:29AM (#1159055) Journal

      Caffeine's half-life is not so simple [caffeineandyou.com] and may be compounded by so-called "entourage effects" of other substances in the cup influencing the way the drug is metabolized. In my own personal experience, a cup of coffee at 2PM or even as late as 4PM does not interfere with my sleep, whereas tea in the afternoon seems to have an effect that drags on long enough to cause sleep interference. It feels like coffee comes on stronger and drops for me, whereas tea builds up and lingers.

      --
      Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
      • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @04:41PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @04:41PM (#1159151)

        I get a buzz off the first cup but after I pick up the crack pipe I can barely feel it any more.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 25 2021, @06:18AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 25 2021, @06:18AM (#1159722)

        It could be that since coffee is a stronger stimulant the resulting crash begins to have a stronger effect sooner.

  • (Score: 2) by rigrig on Thursday July 22 2021, @08:05AM

    by rigrig (5129) <soylentnews@tubul.net> on Thursday July 22 2021, @08:05AM (#1159071) Homepage

    each additional daily cup of coffee was associated with a 3% reduced risk of developing an arrhythmia

    So just drink 34 cups a day for absolute protection.

    --
    No one remembers the singer.
  • (Score: 4, Touché) by inertnet on Thursday July 22 2021, @10:18AM (3 children)

    by inertnet (4071) on Thursday July 22 2021, @10:18AM (#1159078) Journal

    English is not my native language, so I could be wrong, but this sentence:

    greater amounts of habitual coffee consumption were inversely associated with a lower risk of cardiac arrhythmia

    to me reads as if drinking more coffee increases the risk, while this sentence means the exact opposite:

    in fact, each additional daily cup of coffee was associated with a 3% reduced risk of developing an arrhythmia

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by FatPhil on Thursday July 22 2021, @10:35AM

      by FatPhil (863) <{pc-soylent} {at} {asdf.fi}> on Thursday July 22 2021, @10:35AM (#1159083) Homepage
      Your English is great, and your comprehension of what was written, namely that it was contradictory, is spot on. It's the science journalists whose English language skills need to be called into question, not yours.
      --
      Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
    • (Score: 0, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @10:39AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @10:39AM (#1159084)

      You are correct. What you have demonstrated is that the average non-native English speaker has a better grasp of English than the average SoylentNews editor.

    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @04:44PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @04:44PM (#1159154)

      Made perfect sense to me. Learn to speak American before you start criticizing the President's language.

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @01:31PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 22 2021, @01:31PM (#1159110)

    I don't think one cup of coffee each morning is going to hurt a healthy person without a condition that makes them vulnerable to certain problems. If anything all the antioxidants are probably good for them.

    What's really bad for them is the sugar they add to the coffee. The problem is most people that drink coffee and argue that it's good for them add sugar to the coffee.

    • (Score: 2) by crafoo on Friday July 23 2021, @06:23AM (1 child)

      by crafoo (6639) on Friday July 23 2021, @06:23AM (#1159350)

      Go to chain coffee shop for "coffee", buy a 3000 kcal 16 oz liquid cake. What? Oh this. It's just my morning coffee. Anyway. Healthy at any size!

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 23 2021, @08:07AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 23 2021, @08:07AM (#1159372)

        16 oz? No thanks, I'll take the large. And a 2000 kcal burger uhh breakfast sandwich.

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