The Tromsø Heart Study: is coffee drinking an indicator of a life style with high risk for ischemic heart disease?

Associations between coffee drinking, use of table fat with low contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids, preference for low-fat milk, use of fruits and vegetables, smoking and lack of physical activity in leisure time have been described in a cross-sectional study of 14,582 men and women. Coffee drinking was negatively related to the use of low-fat milk, use of table fat high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, use of fruits and vegetables, and positively associated with bread consumption. Three persons out of four with high coffee consumption (greater than 8 cups/day) were daily smokers, in contrast to about a quarter of those with low coffee consumption (less than 1 cup/day). In women and young men, high coffee consumption was associated with low physical activity at leisure. The results suggest that high coffee consumption may be an indicator of a life style with high risk for coronary heart disease.