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Coffee Drinking and Mortality in 10 European Countries: Annals of Internal Medicine
Coffee Drinking and Mortality in 10 European Countries: Annals of Internal Medicine
Background: The relationship between coffee consumption cant inverse association of coffee drinking with circulatory dis-
and mortality in diverse European populations with variable cof- ease mortality (HR, 0.78 [CI, 0.68 to 0.90]; P for trend < 0.001)
fee preparation methods is unclear. and cerebrovascular disease mortality (HR, 0.70 [CI, 0.55 to
0.90]; P for trend = 0.002) and a positive association with ovarian
Objective: To examine whether coffee consumption is associ- cancer mortality (HR, 1.31 [CI, 1.07 to 1.61]; P for trend = 0.015).
ated with all-cause and cause-specific mortality. In the EPIC Biomarkers subcohort, higher coffee consumption
Design: Prospective cohort study. was associated with lower serum alkaline phosphatase; alanine
aminotransferase; aspartate aminotransferase; ␥-glutamyltrans-
Setting: 10 European countries. ferase; and, in women, C-reactive protein, lipoprotein(a), and
glycated hemoglobin levels.
Participants: 521 330 persons enrolled in EPIC (European Pro-
spective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition). Limitations: Reverse causality may have biased the findings;
however, results did not differ after exclusion of participants who
Measurements: Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs estimated us- died within 8 years of baseline. Coffee-drinking habits were as-
ing multivariable Cox proportional hazards models. The associ- sessed only once.
ation of coffee consumption with serum biomarkers of liver func-
tion, inflammation, and metabolic health was evaluated in the Conclusion: Coffee drinking was associated with reduced risk
EPIC Biomarkers subcohort (n = 14 800). for death from various causes. This relationship did not vary by
country.
Results: During a mean follow-up of 16.4 years, 41 693 deaths
occurred. Compared with nonconsumers, participants in the Primary Funding Source: European Commission Directorate-
highest quartile of coffee consumption had statistically signifi- General for Health and Consumers and International Agency for
cantly lower all-cause mortality (men: HR, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.82 to Research on Cancer.
0.95]; P for trend < 0.001; women: HR, 0.93 [CI, 0.87 to 0.98]; P Ann Intern Med. doi:10.7326/M16-2945 Annals.org
for trend = 0.009). Inverse associations were also observed for For author affiliations, see end of text.
digestive disease mortality for men (HR, 0.41 [CI, 0.32 to 0.54]; P This article was published at Annals.org on 11 July 2017.
for trend < 0.001) and women (HR, 0.60 [CI, 0.46 to 0.78]; P for * Drs. Gunter and Murphy contributed equally to this work.
trend < 0.001). Among women, there was a statistically signifi- † Deceased.
and Nutrition), a large multinational cohort that cap- at Annals.org, for details on measurement methods).
tured country-specific coffee preparation methods. In After the same exclusion criteria used in the main
addition, to gain insight into potential biological mech- coffee–mortality analyses were applied, 14 800 partici-
anisms, we investigated the association of coffee drink- pants remained.
ing with selected serum biomarkers of liver function,
inflammation, and metabolic health. Assessment of Mortality
Data on vital status and cause and date of death
were collected at the EPIC study centers using record
METHODS linkages with cancer registries, boards of health, and
Study Population death indices in Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Nor-
EPIC is a multicenter prospective cohort of 521 330 way, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom and
participants, mostly aged 35 years or older, who were through active follow-up (inquiries by mail or tele-
recruited in 1992 to 2000, predominantly from the gen- phone, municipal registries, regional health depart-
eral population of 10 European countries (Denmark, ments, and physicians or hospitals) in Germany,
France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Nor- Greece, and France. Data on causes of death were
way, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) (18, 19). coded in accordance with the International Classifica-
Additional detail on the study population is provided in tion of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10). The following
Appendix 1 (available at Annals.org). Written informed causes of death were investigated: cancer (ICD-10
consent was provided by all study participants, and eth- codes C00 to D48), circulatory diseases (codes I00 to
ical approval for EPIC was provided by the International I99), ischemic heart diseases (codes I20 to I25), cere-
Agency for Research on Cancer and local participating brovascular diseases (codes I60 to I69), respiratory dis-
centers. Participants who reported cancer (n = 22 537), eases (codes J30 to J98), digestive diseases (codes K00
heart disease (n = 12 619), stroke (n = 3683), or diabe- to K93), external causes (codes S00 to Y98), and suicide
tes (n = 12 461); those in the highest and lowest 1% of (codes X60 to X84).
the distribution for the ratio of energy intake to esti-
mated energy requirement (n = 8828); and those miss- Statistical Analysis
ing information on coffee consumption and follow-up Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs were estimated
(n = 9459) were excluded from analyses. The final ana- using Cox proportional hazards models, with age as the
lytic data set included 451 743 participants (130 662 primary time metric. Time of study entry was age at
men and 321 081 women). recruitment, and exit time was age at death or the last
Diet, Lifestyle, and Anthropometric Information date at which follow-up was considered complete in
each center. Models were also stratified by age at re-
Dietary intake was assessed by different instru-
cruitment (in 1-year categories) and center to minimize
ments that had been developed and validated within
departure from proportionality and to control for differ-
the EPIC source populations to reflect each country's
ences across centers, such as in follow-up procedures
local context (18, 19). Self-administered questionnaires
and questionnaire design.
were used in all centers, except in Greece, Spain, and
To account for between-country variability in the
Ragusa (Italy), where data were collected at a personal
volume and concentration of the type of coffee locally
interview. Information specifically on caffeinated and
consumed, total, caffeinated, and decaffeinated coffee
decaffeinated coffee drinking was collected from par-
were modeled using country-specific quartiles among
ticipants in Germany, Greece, Italy (excluding Naples
coffee drinkers compared with nondrinkers. Analyses
and Ragusa), the Netherlands, and the United King-
dom. Participants recorded the number of cups of cof- based on daily number of cups of coffee consumed (0,
fee consumed per month, week, or day. Coffee con- <1, 1 to <2, 2 to <3, and ≥3 cups per day [1 cup = 237
sumption (in milliliters per day) was calculated using mL]) were also done. Trend tests across exposure
the typical sizes of cups for each center. Lifestyle ques- groups were done by entering the category variables
tionnaires were used to obtain information on educa- into the Cox models as continuous terms. Continuous
tion; smoking; alcohol consumption; physical activity; models (HR expressed per cup per day) were also
use of oral contraceptives and menopausal hormone used. The multivariable models were adjusted for a set
therapy; menopausal status; and, in 5 centers, non- of a priori– determined covariates that included body
steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use. mass index (<22, 22 to 24.9, 25 to 29.9, 30 to 34.9, or
≥35 kg/m2), physical activity (inactive, moderately inac-
Liver Function, Circulatory Disease, and tive, moderately active, or active), smoking status and
Metabolic Biomarker Measurement intensity (never, current [1 to 15, 16 to 25, or ≥26 cig-
Baseline data on serum levels of albumin, alkaline arettes per day], or former [≤10, 11 to <20, or ≥20
phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), as- years since quitting]; current pipe, cigar, or occasional
partate aminotransferase (AST), ␥-glutamyltransferase smoking; current vs. former; missing; or unknown),
(GGT), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), gly- smoking duration (<10, 10 to <20, 20 to <30, 30 to
cated hemoglobin (HbA1c), high-density lipoprotein <40, or ≥40 years or unknown), education (none, pri-
cholesterol (HDL-C), and lipoprotein(a) were available mary school, technical or professional school, second-
for the EPIC Biomarkers subcohort of 16 775 randomly ary school, higher education [including university], or
selected participants (see Appendix Table 1, available not specified), menopausal status (premenopausal,
2 Annals of Internal Medicine Annals.org
Men Women
Table 2. Associations of Daily Coffee Consumption and All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Among Men and Women
Circulatory diseases
(ICD-10
codes I00–I99)
Men
Deaths, n 257 1352 1148 1091 922 –
HR (95% CI)
Basic model† 1.00 (reference) 0.96 (0.84–1.10) 0.91 (0.80–1.05) 0.92 (0.80–1.05) 1.12 (0.97–1.29) 0.033 –
Multivariable model‡ 1.00 (reference) 1.02 (0.89–1.17) 0.93 (0.80–1.07) 0.87 (0.76–1.00) 0.93 (0.80–1.08) 0.004 0.97 (0.95–0.99)
Women
Deaths, n 334 1399 968 959 676 –
HR (95% CI)
Basic model† 1.00 (reference) 0.85 (0.75–0.96) 0.75 (0.66–0.85) 0.82 (0.72–0.93) 0.94 (0.82–1.08) 0.95 –
Multivariable model‡ 1.00 (reference) 0.89 (0.78–1.01) 0.74 (0.65–0.85) 0.77 (0.67–0.88) 0.78 (0.68–0.90) <0.001 0.96 (0.94–0.99)
Cerebrovascular diseases
(ICD-10 codes I60–I69)
Men
Deaths, n 58 284 231 195 150 –
HR (95% CI)
Basic model† 1.00 (reference) 0.89 (0.66–1.19) 0.80 (0.60–1.08) 0.77 (0.57–1.04) 0.92 (0.67–1.25) 0.42 –
Multivariable model‡ 1.00 (reference) 0.94 (0.70–1.27) 0.83 (0.61–1.12) 0.76 (0.56–1.04) 0.83 (0.60–1.14) 0.043 0.94 (0.89–0.99)
Women
Deaths, n 114 472 358 317 201 –
HR (95% CI)
Basic model† 1.00 (reference) 0.83 (0.67–1.03) 0.78 (0.63–0.98) 0.77 (0.62–0.97) 0.82 (0.64–1.04) 0.154 –
Multivariable model‡ 1.00 (reference) 0.85 (0.68–1.05) 0.77 (0.62–0.96) 0.74 (0.59–0.92) 0.70 (0.55–0.90) 0.002 0.94 (0.90–0.99)
Table 2—Continued
Respiratory diseases
(ICD-10 codes J30–J98)§
Men
Deaths, n 240 162 161 151 –
HR (95% CI)
Basic model† 1.00 (reference) 0.89 (0.73–1.09) 1.03 (0.84–1.27) 1.55 (1.25–1.91) 0.004 –
Multivariable model‡ 1.00 (reference) 0.81 (0.66–0.99) 0.84 (0.69–1.04) 1.05 (0.84–1.30) 0.62 1.01 (0.96–1.06)
Women
Deaths, n 316 212 185 162 –
HR (95% CI)
Basic model† 1.00 (reference) 1.08 (0.91–1.29) 1.16 (0.96–1.40) 1.74 (1.43–2.13) <0.001 –
Multivariable model‡ 1.00 (reference) 0.95 (0.79–1.14) 0.83 (0.69–1.01) 0.91 (0.74–1.12) 0.142 0.98 (0.94–1.03)
Liver Function, Inflammation, and Metabolic 0.93 [CI, 0.87 to 0.98]; P for trend = 0.009) (Table 2).
Biomarker Measurements When categories of daily consumption (in cups) were
In the EPIC Biomarkers subcohort, mean serum lev- used, similar inverse associations were observed for
els of liver function, inflammatory, and metabolic bio- men (HR for ≥3 cups per day vs. nonconsumers, 0.82
markers were calculated for coffee consumption cate- [CI, 0.76 to 0.89]; P for trend < 0.001) and women (HR
gories. For biomarker values that were nonnormally for ≥3 cups per day vs. nonconsumers, 0.92 [CI, 0.87 to
distributed, data were log-transformed and geometric 0.98]; P for trend < 0.001) (data not shown). We found
means were calculated for each category (see the foot- no evidence of heterogeneity by country for the asso-
note to Table 3 for multivariable adjustments). Also in ciation between coffee drinking and all-cause mortality
the subcohort, Cox proportional hazards models using (P for heterogeneity = 0.71 for men and 0.37 for
the same criteria as the analyses of coffee consumption women). Overall, similar inverse associations and linear
and mortality were used to assess the relationships of trends were observed for consumption of caffeinated
serum levels (sex-specific quartiles) of albumin, ALP, and decaffeinated coffee, although the association with
ALT, AST, GGT, CRP, HbA1c, HDL-C, and lipoprotein(a) all-cause mortality was less pronounced for caffeinated
with all-cause mortality (see the legend of Appendix than decaffeinated coffee in men, with a statistically sig-
Figure 1, available at Annals.org, for multivariable ad- nificantly lower risk not observed in the highest quartile
justments). of consumption (Appendix Tables 3 and 4, available at
All statistical tests were 2-sided, and a P value less Annals.org).
than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Adjusted cumulative incidence curves for all-cause
mortality by coffee consumption categories are pre-
Ethical Approval sented in Appendix Figure 2 (available at Annals.org).
All participants provided informed consent, and For men, the cumulative incidence of death until age
ethical approval for the entire EPIC cohort was ob- 80 years was 3.1% (CI, 1.7% to 4.5%) and 2.2% (CI, 0.8%
tained from the Institutional Review Board of the Inter- to 3.7%) lower among participants in the third and
national Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, highest quartiles of consumption, respectively, com-
France, under protocol numbers SC/24/4 and SC/24/6, pared with nonconsumers. For women, the cumulative
as well as from local ethics committees in the participat- incidence of death until age 80 years was 1.4% (CI,
ing countries. 0.6% to 2.3%) and 0.8% (CI, ⫺0.1% to 1.7%) lower
Role of the Funding Source among those in the third and highest quartiles of con-
The funders of the EPIC study had no role in study sumption compared with nonconsumers.
design, conduct, or reporting of the results.
Coffee Consumption and Cause-Specific
Mortality
RESULTS Strong inverse associations were observed be-
After a mean follow-up of 16.4 years, 18 302 and tween coffee consumption and risks for death from di-
23 391 deaths were recorded among men and women, gestive disease for men (highest quartile vs. noncon-
respectively. Of the 41 693 total deaths, 18 003 were sumers and first quartile: HR, 0.41 [CI, 0.32 to 0.54]; P
from cancer, 9106 were from circulatory diseases, 2380 for trend < 0.001) and women (highest quartile vs. non-
were from cerebrovascular diseases, 3536 were from consumers and first quartile: HR, 0.60 [CI, 0.46 to 0.78];
ischemic heart diseases, 1213 were from digestive dis- P for trend < 0.001) (Table 2). Similar inverse associa-
eases, 1589 were from respiratory diseases, 1571 were tions were observed when categories of daily con-
from external causes, and 418 were from suicide. Mor- sumption (in cups) were used (data not shown). Slightly
tality rates, age-adjusted to European standard popula- more than one third of digestive disease deaths were
tions (23), were 118 and 78 deaths per 10 000 person- due to liver disease. There was a statistically significant
years in men and women, respectively. Daily volume of inverse association between coffee drinking and liver
coffee consumed was highest in Denmark (median, 900 disease death (highest quartile vs. nonconsumers
mL/d for men and women) and lowest in Italy (median, [sexes combined]: HR, 0.20 [CI, 0.13 to 0.29]), whereas
91 mL/d for men and 93 mL/d for women) (Appendix the results for nonliver digestive disease deaths were
Table 2, available at Annals.org). Compared with non- inconclusive (highest quartile vs. nonconsumers [sexes
consumers, participants with higher reported coffee in- combined]: HR, 0.81 [CI, 0.56 to 1.16]). We found
take were more likely to be younger and current smok- a strong inverse association between death from cir-
ers, reported higher intake of red and processed meats rhosis and coffee drinking (highest quartile vs. noncon-
and alcohol, and reported lower consumption of fruits sumers [sexes combined]: HR, 0.21 [CI, 0.13 to 0.34]).
and vegetables (Table 1). Similar inverse associations were observed for alcoholic
and nonalcoholic cirrhosis (data not shown).
Coffee Consumption and All-Cause Mortality Coffee consumption was also inversely associated
Participants in the highest quartile of coffee con- with circulatory disease; this relationship was more pro-
sumption had lower risk for all-cause death than non- nounced in women, and the associations were stronger
consumers after adjustment for smoking and other co- for deaths from cerebrovascular disease (highest quar-
variates in the multivariable models (men: HR, 0.88 tile vs. nonconsumers: HR, 0.70 [CI, 0.55 to 0.90]; P for
[95% CI, 0.82 to 0.95]; P for trend < 0.001; women: HR, trend = 0.002) (Table 2). In general, the associations
6 Annals of Internal Medicine Annals.org
Figure. Subgroup analysis of association between daily coffee consumption and all-cause mortality among men and women.
Men Women
Subgroup Hazard Ratio P Value for Hazard Ratio P Value for
(95% CI) Interaction (95% CI) Interaction
Hazard ratios are for the comparison of participants in the highest quartile of consumption vs. nonconsumers. The multivariable model used Cox
regression with adjustment for the covariates listed in the Statistical Analysis section of the text and stratification by age (1-y categories) and center.
Categories were based on country-specific quartiles of coffee consumption after exclusion of nonconsumers. Quartile cutoffs were 500, 900, and
1300 mL/d in Denmark; 150, 280, and 450 mL/d in France; 261, 395, and 580 mL/d in Germany; 70, 140, and 240 mL/d in Greece; 60, 92, and 138
mL/d in Italy; 375, 500, and 750 mL/d in the Netherlands; 300, 420, and 540 mL/d in Norway; 50, 105, and 196 mL/d in Spain; 300, 400, and 601
mL/d in Sweden; and 83, 380, and 488 mL/d in the United Kingdom.
* Median was 12.6 g/d in men and 3.4 g/d in women.
† Median was 90.2 g/d in men and 60.3 g/d in women.
‡ Median was 324 g/d in men and 413 g/d in women.
Table 3. Multivariable-Adjusted Mean Serum Levels of Liver Function, Circulatory Disease, and Metabolic Biomarkers Across
Coffee Consumption Categories Among Men and Women (n = 14 800)*
Lipoprotein(a), mol/L§
Men 14.28 14.49 14.62 14.06 13.89 0.24
Women 12.93 12.39 12.06 12.25 11.14 0.002
* Multivariable means were adjusted for country, smoking status (never, former, current, or missing), age (continuous), body mass index (<22,
22–24.9, 25–29.9, 30 –34.9, or ≥35 kg/m2), alcohol consumption (in grams per day [continuous]), and total energy intake (in kilocalories per day
[continuous]). Trend tests across exposure groups were calculated by entering the category variables into the models as continuous terms.
† Based on country-specific quartiles of coffee consumption after exclusion of nonconsumers. Quartile cutoffs were 500, 900, and 1300 mL/d in
Denmark; 151, 277, and 437 mL/d in France; 262, 404, and 580 mL/d in Germany; 60, 90, and 130 mL/d in Italy; 447, 536, and 768 mL/d in the
Netherlands; 50, 110, and 200 mL/d in Spain; 321, 455, and 611 mL/d in Sweden; and 192, 477, and 855 mL/d in the United Kingdom.
‡ Arithmetic mean.
§ Geometric mean.
categories (Appendix Table 7, available at Annals.org) attenuate the upper limit of the CI to greater than 1.00
and were virtually unchanged when deaths occurring (Appendix 2 and Appendix Table 11, available at
during the first 5 and 8 years of follow-up were ex- Annals.org).
cluded (Appendix Tables 8 and 9, available at Annals
.org). Similar associations were also observed when Serum Levels of Liver, Inflammation, and
analyses were limited to participants who reported be- Metabolic Biomarkers, by Coffee Consumption
ing in “excellent” or “good” health at baseline (Appen- Compared with non– coffee drinkers or persons
dix Table 10, available at Annals.org) and to consumers with low consumption, those with higher consumption
of caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee only (data not had statistically significantly lower mean serum levels of
shown). The sensitivity analysis on the possible effect of ALP, ALT, AST, and GGT and higher albumin levels (P
residual confounding found that an unmeasured con- for trend < 0.05 for all) (Table 3). For women only,
founder would need to be strongly associated with all- higher coffee consumption was correlated with lower
cause mortality (HR <0.75) and substantially imbal- CRP, serum HbA1c, and lipoprotein(a) levels and higher
anced between non– coffee drinkers and persons with HDL-C levels. A total of 891 all-cause deaths were re-
high consumption (>20% difference in prevalence) to corded in the EPIC Biomarkers subcohort. Serum levels
8 Annals of Internal Medicine Annals.org
fee drinking and mortality. However, the large number Bilthoven, the Netherlands; University Medical Centre,
of participants and recorded deaths allowed us to re- Utrecht, the Netherlands; Malmö University Hospital, Malmö,
strict our analyses to never-smokers. Although we can- Sweden; Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden; Swedish University
not exclude residual confounding as a potential expla- of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden; University of
nation of our findings, we found limited evidence that Tromsø, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway;
our findings resulted from confounding bias due to and National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland.
smoking or other established risk factors for death. Re-
verse causality, whereby participants experiencing Note: All authors had full access to all of the data (including
early disease symptoms at baseline may have recorded statistical reports and tables) in the study and take responsi-
lower coffee consumption, may also have been a bility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data
source of bias in our analysis. However, we excluded analysis. The authors are not affiliated with the listed funding
participants who reported previous ill health. Further- institutions. Drs. Gunter and Murphy act as the guarantors of
more, similar associations were observed when the this article.
analyses were limited to participants who reported be-
ing in “excellent” or “good” health at baseline and
when participants who died during the first 5 and 8 Acknowledgment: The authors thank the EPIC participants
years of follow-up were excluded. An additional limita- and staff for their valuable contribution to this research and
tion is that coffee consumption was assessed only at Nicola Kerrison (MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cam-
baseline, and changes in consumption may have oc- bridge) for managing the data for the InterAct Project.
curred during follow-up. However, other studies in
Western populations that measured diet repeatedly Financial Support: The coordination of EPIC is financially sup-
during follow-up found relatively stable coffee con- ported by the European Commission Directorate-General
sumption patterns over time, indicating that a single for Health and Consumers and the International Agency for
assessment likely captures medium- to long-term drink- Research on Cancer. The national cohorts are supported by
ing habits (11). Finally, because coffee drinking was the Danish Cancer Society (Denmark); Ligue Contre le Can-
self-reported, some measurement error is likely. cer, Institut Gustave Roussy, Mutuelle Générale de l’Education
In summary, our results suggest that higher levels Nationale, and Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche
of coffee drinking are associated with lower risk for Médicale (France); Deutsche Krebshilfe, Deutsches Krebs-
death from various causes, specifically digestive and forschungszentrum, and Federal Ministry of Education and
circulatory diseases. The consistency of the results of Research (Germany); Hellenic Health Foundation, Stavros
this European study versus those from other cohort Niarchos Foundation, and the Hellenic Ministry of Health and
studies around the world, as well as biomarker data Social Solidarity (Greece); Italian Association for Cancer Re-
indicating that coffee drinkers have a more favorable search, National Research Council, and Associazione Iblea per
liver function and inflammatory biomarker profile than la Ricerca Epidemiologica Ragusa, Associazione Volontari Ital-
non– coffee drinkers or those with low consumption, iani Sangue Ragusa, Sicilian Government (Italy); Dutch Minis-
support the hypothesis that coffee may confer health try of Public Health, Welfare and Sport, Netherlands Cancer
benefits. Because coffee consumption is so widespread Registry, LK Research Funds, Dutch Prevention Funds, Dutch
and intakes are modifiable, its potentially beneficial ZorgOnderzoek Nederland, World Cancer Research Fund In-
clinical implications should be carefully considered. ternational, and Statistics Netherlands (the Netherlands); Eu-
ropean Research Council (grant ERC-2009-AdG 232997),
From International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, NordForsk, and Nordic Centre of Excellence Programme on
France; Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Food, Nutrition and Health (Norway); Health Research Fund,
Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France; German Cancer Re- Regional Governments of Andalucı́a, Asturias, Basque Coun-
search Center, Heidelberg, Germany; German Institute of Hu- try, Murcia (no. 6236) and Navarra, and the Centro de Inves-
man Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Nuthetal, Germany; Dan- tigación Biomédica en Red en Epidemiologı́a y Salud Pública
ish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark; and Instituto de Salud Carlos II (RD12/0036/0018) (Spain);
Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; Bispebjerg and Freder- Swedish Cancer Society, Swedish Scientific Council, and Re-
iksberg Hospital, Frederiksberg, Denmark; Public Health Di- gional Government of Skåne and Västerbotten (Sweden); and
rectorate, Asturias, Spain; Catalan Institute of Oncology, Bar- Cancer Research UK, Medical Research Council, Stroke Asso-
celona, Spain; Andalusian School of Public Health, Granada, ciation, British Heart Foundation, Department of Health, Food
Spain; Public Health Division of Gipuzkoa, Basque Regional Standards Agency, and the Wellcome Trust (United King-
Health Department, San Sebastián, Spain; Murcia Regional dom). Funding for the biomarker measurements in the subco-
Health Council, Murcia, Spain; Navarre Public Health Institute, hort was provided by grants to EPIC-InterAct from the Euro-
Pamplona, Spain; University of Cambridge and MRC Epidemi- pean Community Framework Programme 6 and to EPIC-Heart
ology Unit, Cambridge, United Kingdom; University of Ox- from the Medical Research Council and the British Heart
ford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Hellenic Health Foundation, Foundation (joint award G0800270). Funding for the InterAct
Athens, Greece; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, project was provided by the European Union Sixth Framework
Boston, Massachusetts; Cancer Research and Prevention Programme (grant LSHM_CT_2006_037197). Dr. Muller's
Institute–ISPO, Florence, Italy; Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazi- work was done during an International Agency for Research
onale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy; Federico II University, Naples, on Cancer Australia postdoctoral fellowship, supported by
Italy; “Civic - M.P. Arezzo” Hospital, ASP Ragusa, Ragusa, Italy; Cancer Council Australia. Dr. Palli was supported by a grant
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, from the Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro.
10 Annals of Internal Medicine Annals.org
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Albumin
Q1 1.00 0.003
Q2 0.84 (0.73–0.98)
Q3 0.84 (0.71–0.99)
Q4 0.76 (0.62–0.92)
ALP
Q1 1.00 0.008
Q2 1.03 (0.85–1.26)
Q3 1.17 (0.97–1.42)
Q4 1.25 (1.03–1.50)
ALT
Q1 1.00 <0.001
Q2 0.81 (0.69–0.96)
Q3 0.83 (0.69–0.99)
Q4 0.63 (0.50–0.79)
AST
Q1 1.00 <0.001
Q2 1.02 (0.84–1.23)
Q3 1.24 (1.03–1.50)
Q4 1.50 (1.21–1.87)
GGT
Q1 1.00 0.002
Q2 1.03 (0.85–1.24)
Q3 1.09 (0.91–1.31)
Q4 1.36 (1.11–1.65)
CRP
Q1 1.00 <0.001
Q2 0.89 (0.73–1.08)
Q3 1.28 (1.07–1.53)
Q4 1.67 (1.39–1.99)
HbA1c
Q1 1.00 0.23
Q2 1.13 (0.95–1.34)
Q3 1.12 (0.93–1.36)
Q4 1.15 (0.96–1.37)
HDL-C
Q1 1.00 0.12
Q2 0.91 (0.79–1.05)
Q3 0.89 (0.76–1.05)
Q4 0.88 (0.74–1.04)
Lipoprotein(a)
Q1 1.00 0.25
Q2 1.01 (0.85–1.19)
Q3 1.06 (0.91–1.25)
Q4 1.08 (0.92–1.28)
The multivariable model used Cox regression, with adjustment for body mass index (<22, 22–24.9, 25–29.9, 30 –34.9, or ≥35 kg/m2), physical activity
(inactive, moderately inactive, moderately active, or active), education (none, primary school, technical or professional school, secondary school,
higher education [including university], or not specified), alcohol consumption (0, <5, 5–14.9, 15–29.9, or ≥30 g/d), smoking status (never, former,
current, or missing/unknown), ever-use of contraceptive pill (yes, no, or unknown), menopausal status (premenopausal, postmenopausal, perimeno-
pausal, surgically postmenopausal, or unknown), and ever-use of menopausal hormone therapy (yes, no, or unknown) and stratification by sex, age
(1-y categories), and center. The albumin multivariable model was also adjusted for serum levels of ALT, ALP, AST, and GGT (all continuous and
log-transformed). The ALP multivariable model was also adjusted for serum levels of ALT, AST, GGT, CRP, HDL-C, and total cholesterol (all
continuous and some log-transformed). The ALT multivariable model was also adjusted for serum levels of ALP, AST, GGT, CRP, HDL-C, and total
cholesterol (all continuous and some log-transformed). The AST multivariable model was also adjusted for serum levels of ALT, ALP, GGT, CRP,
HDL-C, and total cholesterol (all continuous and some log-transformed). The GGT multivariable model was also adjusted for serum levels of ALT,
ALP, AST, CRP, HDL-C, and total cholesterol (all continuous and some log-transformed). The CRP multivariable model was also adjusted for serum
levels of HDL-C and total cholesterol (both continuous and log-transformed). First and fourth quartile cut points were <45 to ≥50 g/L for men and
<44 to ≥49 g/L for women for albumin, <0.94 to ≥1.31 μkat/L for men and <0.87 to ≥1.29 μkat/L for women for ALP, <19 to ≥33 U/L for men and
<14 to ≥23 U/L for women for ALT, <26 to ≥35 U/L for men and <23 to ≥31 U/L for women for AST, <0.35 to ≥0.75 μkat/L for men and <0.23 to
(Continued on following page)
Hazard Ratio (95% CI) P Value for Hazard Ratio (95% CI) P Value for
Per Cup Per Day Interaction Per Cup Per Day Interaction
Cancer
Full model 1.00 (0.99–1.02) 1.03 (1.01–1.04)
Smoking status 0.06 0.03
Never 0.95 (0.91–0.99) 1.01 (0.99–1.04)
Former 1.00 (0.97–1.03) 1.01 (0.98–1.05)
Current 1.01 (0.99–1.03) 1.03 (1.00–1.05)
Circulatory diseases
Full model 0.97 (0.95–0.99) 0.96 (0.94–0.99)
Smoking status 0.01 0.01
Never 0.96 (0.91–1.02) 0.93 (0.89–0.98)
Former 0.94 (0.91–0.98) 0.95 (0.90–0.99)
Current 0.98 (0.95–1.01) 0.98 (0.94–1.02)
Cerebrovascular diseases
Full model 0.94 (0.89–0.99) 0.94 (0.90–0.99)
Smoking status 0.46 0.13
Never 0.97 (0.87–1.08) 0.95 (0.88–1.02)
Former 0.93 (0.85–1.02) 0.86 (0.78–0.95)
Current 0.93 (0.86–1.01) 0.97 (0.90–1.04)
Digestive diseases
Full model 0.77 (0.72–0.81) 0.86 (0.81–0.92)
Smoking status 0.19 0.29
Never 0.71 (0.60–0.84) 0.90 (0.80–1.01)
Former 0.77 (0.68–0.86) 0.79 (0.68–0.92)
Current 0.76 (0.71–0.83) 0.83 (0.76–0.92)
Respiratory diseases
Full model 1.01 (0.96–1.06) 0.98 (0.94–1.03)
Smoking status <0.001 0.01
Never 0.74 (0.60–0.95) 0.86 (0.75–0.99)
Former 0.95 (0.87–1.04) 0.95 (0.85–1.06)
Current 1.05 (0.98–1.12) 0.99 (0.95–1.05)
External causes
Full model 0.96 (0.91–1.01) 0.98 (0.93–1.04)
Smoking status 0.57 0.46
Never 0.98 (0.88–1.09) 0.98 (0.89–1.08)
Former 0.96 (0.88–1.05) 1.00 (0.88–1.13)
Current 0.92 (0.86–1.00) 0.96 (0.87–1.06)
Suicide
Full model 0.90 (0.83–0.98) 0.97 (0.87–1.09)
Smoking status 0.19 0.18
Never 0.81 (0.66–1.00) 0.89 (0.70–1.11)
Former 0.86 (0.72–1.02) 1.06 (0.84–1.34)
Current 0.94 (0.84–1.06) 0.93 (0.79–1.10)
* Multivariable model used Cox regression with adjustment for body mass index (<22, 22–24.9, 25–29.9, 30 –34.9, or ≥35 kg/m2); physical activity
(inactive, moderately inactive, moderately active, or active); education status (none, primary school, technical/professional school, secondary school,
higher education [including university], or not specified); alcohol consumption (0, <5, 5–14.9, 15–29.9, or ≥30 g/d); ever-use of contraceptive pill
(yes, no, or unknown); menopausal status (premenopausal, postmenopausal, perimenopausal, surgically postmenopausal, or unknown); ever-use of
menopausal hormone therapy (yes, no, or unknown); and intake of total energy (in kilocalories per day), red and processed meat (in grams per day),
and fruits and vegetables (in grams per day) (all continuous), with stratification by age (1-y categories) and center.
Women
Full model† 1.00 (reference) 0.94 (0.89–0.99) 0.90 (0.85–0.95) 0.90 (0.85–0.95) 0.93 (0.87–0.98) 0.01
Follow-up†‡ 0.23
<5 y (n = 2596 deaths) 1.00 (reference) 0.93 (0.79–1.10) 0.91 (0.77–1.07) 0.88 (0.75–1.05) 0.97 (0.82–1.16) 0.82
5–<10 y (n = 5464 deaths) 1.00 (reference) 0.87 (0.78–0.97) 0.81 (0.72–0.90) 0.81 (0.72–0.90) 0.85 (0.75–0.95) 0.012
≥10 y (n = 15 331 deaths) 1.00 (reference) 0.97 (0.91–1.04) 0.93 (0.87–0.99) 0.94 (0.87–1.00) 0.95 (0.88–1.02) 0.11
* Values are hazard ratios (95% CIs). Categories were based on country-specific quartiles of coffee consumption after exclusion of nonconsumers.
Quartile cutoffs were 500, 900, and 1300 mL/d in Denmark; 150, 280, and 450 mL/d in France; 261, 395, and 580 mL/d in Germany; 70, 140, and
240 mL/d in Greece; 60, 92, and 138 mL/d in Italy; 375, 500, and 750 mL/d in the Netherlands; 300, 420, and 540 mL/d in Norway; 50, 105, and
196 mL/d in Spain; 300, 400, and 601 mL/d in Sweden; and 83, 380, and 488 mL/d in the United Kingdom.
† Multivariable model used Cox regression with adjustment for body mass index (<22, 22–24.9, 25–29.9, 30 –34.9, or ≥35 kg/m2); physical activity
(inactive, moderately inactive, moderately active, or active); education status (none, primary school, technical/professional school, secondary school,
higher education [including university], or not specified); alcohol consumption (0, <5, 5–14.9, 15–29.9, or ≥30 g/d); smoking status and intensity
(never, current [1–15, 16 –25, or ≥26 cigarettes per day], former [≤10, 11–<20, or ≥20 y since quitting], current pipe/cigar/occasional smoking,
current vs. former, missing, or unknown); smoking duration (<10, 10 –<20, 20 –<30, 30 –<40, or ≥40 y or unknown); ever-use of contraceptive pill
(yes, no, or unknown); menopausal status (premenopausal, postmenopausal, perimenopausal, surgically postmenopausal, or unknown); ever-use of
menopausal hormone therapy (yes, no, or unknown); and intake of total energy (in kilocalories per day), red and processed meat (in grams per day),
and fruits and vegetables (in grams per day) (all continuous), with stratification by age (1-y categories) and center.
‡ Follow-up <5 y indicates that follow-up for all participants was censored after 5 y (i.e., only deaths occurring during the first 5 y were considered).
Follow-up of 5–<10 y indicates that only person-time and incident events that occurred during this period were included. Follow-up ≥10 y indicates
that person-time and incident events from the first 10 y of follow-up were excluded (i.e., only deaths that occurred after >10 y of follow-up were
included).
Annals.org
Appendix Table 10. Associations of Daily Coffee Consumption and All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Among Participants
Who Self-Reported Being in “Excellent” or “Good” Health at Baseline (n = 119 609)*
Appendix Figure 2. Adjusted cumulative incidence of all-cause mortality, by coffee consumption categories among men and
women.
Men Women
0.20 0.20
Cumulative Incidence
Cumulative Incidence
0.15 0.15
0.10 0.10
0.05 0.05
50 60 70 80 50 60 70 80
Age, y Age, y
Nonconsumers Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
Flexible parametric survival models were used to allow direct estimation of the conditional cumulative incidence and thus absolute risk for death by
sex and coffee consumption categories, with adjustment for body mass index (<22, 22–24.9, 25–29.9, 30 –34.9, or ≥35 kg/m2); physical activity
(inactive, moderately inactive, moderately active, or active); education (none, primary school, technical or professional school, secondary school,
higher education [including university], or not specified); alcohol consumption (0, <5, 5–14.9, 15–29.9, or ≥30 g/d); smoking status and intensity
(never, current [1–15, 16 –25, or ≥26 cigarettes per day], or former [≤10, 11–<20, or ≥20 years since quitting]; current pipe, cigar, or occasional
smoking; current vs. former; missing; or unknown); smoking duration (<10, 10 –<20, 20 –<30, 30 –<40, or ≥40 years or unknown); ever-use of
contraceptive pill (yes, no, or unknown); menopausal status (premenopausal, postmenopausal, perimenopausal, surgically postmenopausal, or
unknown); ever-use of menopausal hormone therapy (yes, no, or unknown); and intake of total energy (in kilocalories per day), red and processed
meat (in grams per day), and fruits and vegetables (in grams per day) (all continuous), with stratification by age (1-y categories) and center. Within
these models, we used restricted cubic splines with 3 internal knots to model the baseline hazard, using attained age as the time scale. Model-
based survival functions and their CIs were obtained from fitted models by coffee consumption category and sex, with other categorical covariates
set to the most common category and continuous variables set to their sex-specific means. Categories were based on country-specific quartiles of
coffee consumption after exclusion of nonconsumers. Quartile cutoffs were 500, 900, and 1300 mL/d in Denmark; 150, 280, and 450 mL/d in
France; 261, 395, and 580 mL/d in Germany; 70, 140, and 240 mL/d in Greece; 60, 92, and 138 mL/d in Italy; 375, 500, and 750 mL/d in the
Netherlands; 300, 420, and 540 mL/d in Norway; 50, 105, and 196 mL/d in Spain; 300, 400, and 601 mL/d in Sweden; and 83, 380, and 488 mL/d
in the United Kingdom. Q1 = first quartile; Q2 = second quartile; Q3 = third quartile; Q4 = fourth quartile.
–50% 0.30 (0.29–0.32) 0.30 (0.29–0.32) 0.52 (0.50–0.54) 0.61 (0.58–0.63) 0.68 (0.65–0.71) 0.81 (0.77–0.84) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.99 (0.95–1.04) 1.06 (1.02–1.11) 1.12 (1.07–1.17) 1.17 (1.12–1.22) 1.21 (1.16–1.27) 1.37 (1.31–1.43) 1.46 (1.39–1.52)
–40% 0.30 (0.29–0.32) 0.51 (0.48–0.53) 0.65 (0.62–0.68) 0.71 (0.68–0.74) 0.76 (0.73–0.79) 0.84 (0.81–0.88) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.97 (0.92–1.01) 1.01 (0.97–1.06) 1.05 (1.00–1.10) 1.08 (1.04–1.13) 1.11 (1.06–1.16) 1.21 (1.16–1.27) 1.27 (1.22–1.33)
–30% 0.52 (0.50–0.54) 0.65 (0.62–0.68) 0.74 (0.71–0.78) 0.78 (0.75–0.81) 0.81 (0.78–0.85) 0.87 (0.83–0.90) 0.91(0.87–0.95) 0.95 (0.90–0.99) 0.98 (0.93–1.02) 1.00 (0.96–1.04) 1.02 (0.98–1.07) 1.04 (0.99–1.09) 1.11 (1.06–1.15) 1.14 (1.09–1.19)
–20% 0.68 (0.65–0.71) 0.76 (0.73–0.79) 0.81 (0.78–0.85) 0.83 (0.80–0.87) 0.85 (0.82–0.89) 0.88 (0.85–0.92) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.93 (0.89–0.97) 0.95 (0.91–0.99) 0.96 (0.92–1.00) 0.98 (0.93–1.02) 0.99 (0.94–1.03) 1.02 (0.98–1.07) 1.05 (1.00–1.09)
–10% 0.81 (0.77–0.84) 0.84 (0.81–0.88) 0.87 (0.83–0.90) 0.88 (0.84–0.91) 0.88 (0.85–0.92) 0.90 (0.86–0.94) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.92 (0.88–0.96) 0.93 (0.89–0.97) 0.93 (0.89–0.97) 0.94 (0.90–0.98) 0.94 (0.90–0.99) 0.96 (0.92–1.00) 0.97 (0.93–1.01)
0% 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.91 (0.87–0.95)
10% 0.99 (0.95–1.04) 0.97 (0.92–1.01) 0.95 (0.90–0.99) 0.94 (0.90–0.98) 0.93 (0.89–0.97) 0.92 (0.88–0.96) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.90 (0.86–0.94) 0.90 (0.86–0.94) 0.89 (0.85–0.93) 0.89 (0.85–0.93) 0.88 (0.84–0.92) 0.87 (0.83–0.91) 0.86 (0.82–0.90)
20% 1.06 (1.02–1.11) 1.01 (0.97–1.06) 0.98 (0.93–1.02) 0.96 (0.92–1.00) 0.95 (0.91–0.99) 0.93 (0.89–0.97) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.90 (0.86–0.94) 0.88 (0.85–0.92) 0.88 (0.84–0.91) 0.87 (0.83–0.90) 0.86 (0.82–0.90) 0.83 (0.80–0.87) 0.82 (0.78–0.86)
30% 1.12 (1.07–1.17) 1.05 (1.00–1.10) 1.00 (0.96–1.04) 0.98 (0.94–1.02) 0.96 (0.92–1.00) 0.93 (0.89–0.97) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.89 (0.85–0.93) 0.88 (0.84–0.91) 0.86 (0.82–0.90) 0.85 (0.81–0.89) 0.84 (0.80–0.88) 0.81 (0.77–0.84) 0.78 (0.75–0.82)
40% 1.17 (1.12–1.22) 1.08 (1.04–1.13) 1.02 (0.98–1.07) 1.00 (0.95–1.04) 0.98 (0.93–1.02) 0.94 (0.90–0.98) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.89 (0.85–0.93) 0.87 (0.83–0.90) 0.85 (0.81–0.89) 0.84 (0.80–0.87) 0.82 (0.79–0.86) 0.78 (0.75–0.81) 0.75 (0.72–0.79)
50% 1.21 (1.16–1.27) 1.11 (1.06–1.16) 1.04 (0.99–1.09) 1.01 (0.97–1.06) 0.99 (0.94–1.03) 0.94 (0.90–0.99) 0.91 (0.87–0.95) 0.88 (0.84–0.92) 0.86 (0.82–0.90) 0.84 (0.80–0.88) 0.82 (0.79–0.86) 0.81 (0.77–0.84) 0.76 (0.73–0.79) 0.73 (0.70–0.76)