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American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access originally published online on April 16, 2009
American Journal of Epidemiology 2009 169(12):1445-1453; doi:10.1093/aje/kwp068
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American Journal of Epidemiology © The Author 2009. Published by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Coffee Intake, Smoking, and Pulmonary Function in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

Jennifer A. Nettleton, Jack L. Follis and Matthew B. Schabath

Correspondence to Dr. Jennifer A. Nettleton, Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center, 1200 Herman Pressler Street, RAS E-641, Houston, TX 77030 (e-mail: jennifer.a.nettleton{at}uth.tmc.edu).

Received for publication December 15, 2008. Accepted for publication February 23, 2009.

Coffee contains polyphenolic antioxidants and caffeine, which may favorably affect pulmonary function. Therefore, the authors studied cross-sectional associations (1987–1989) between coffee intake and pulmonary function in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, a population-based cohort study (analytic sample = 10,658). They also conducted analyses stratified by smoking status, since smoking is a strong risk factor for respiratory disease and could influence the effects of caffeine and antioxidants. Self-reported coffee intake was categorized as rare/never, <7 cups/week, 1 cup/day, 2–3 cups/day, and ≥4 cups/day. Pulmonary function was characterized by the spirometric measures forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1). After adjustment for demographic factors, lifestyle characteristics, and dietary factors, pulmonary function values increased across increasing categories of coffee consumption in never and former smokers but not in current smokers. In never or former smokers who consumed ≥4 cups of coffee daily, FVC and FEV1 were 2%–3% greater than in never or former smokers who rarely/never consumed coffee (Ptrend values: in never smokers, 0.04 for FVC and 0.07 for FEV1; in former smokers, <0.001 for FVC and <0.001 for FEV1). These data show a possible beneficial effect of coffee (or a coffee ingredient) on pulmonary function, but it appears to be limited to nonsmokers.

coffee; forced expiratory volume; lung diseases; respiratory function tests; smoking; vital capacity

Abbreviations: ARIC, Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FFQ, food frequency questionnaire; FVC, forced vital capacity


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