Discussion
Coffee drinking may be a marker for an atherogenic diet,
cigarette smoking, or sedentary lifestyle, rather than an
etiologic factor in heart disease outcomes. For example,
Hennekens, et al., 10 reported a positive association between
coffee drinking and mortality from coronary heart disease,
independent of cigarette smoking, that disappeared with
adjustment for daily alcohol consumption, level of physical
activity, and use of coffee additives.
In the present study, there was an increased occurrence
of three habits in caffeinated coffee drinkers: use of cigarettes,
excess consumption of alcohol, and an atherogenic
diet. There was a dose-response relationship in the extent to
which some of these behaviors were practiced among drinkers
of caffeinated coffee