Coffee consumption and cause-specific mortality. Association with age at death and compression of mortality

The relationship between reported coffee consumption and specific causes of death was examined in 9484 males enrolled in the Adventist Mortality Study in 1960 and followed through 1985. Coffee consumption was divided into three levels: less than 1 cup per day, 1-2 cups per day, and greater than or equal to 3 cups per day. Approximately one third of the subjects did not drink coffee. Cause-specific mortality rates were compared using survival analysis including Cox's proportional hazard model, and controlling for potential confounders such as body mass index, heart disease and hypertension at baseline, race, physical activity, marital status, educational level, smoking history, and dietary pattern. Inclusion of interaction terms between coffee consumption and attained age as time-dependent covariates allowed the hazard ratio to vary with age. Univariate analyses showed a statistically significant association (p less than 0.05) for coffee consumption and mortality for most endpoints. Multivariate analyses showed a small but statistically significant association between coffee consumption and mortality from ischemic heart disease, other cardiovascular diseases, all cardiovascular diseases, and all causes of death. For the major causes of death, the hazard ratios decreased from about 2.5 at 30 years of age to 1.0 around 95 years of age. These results indicate that abstinence from coffee leads to compression of mortality rather than an increase in lifespan.