JAMA ON JAVA.

Habitual coffee consumption does not lead to an increased risk of hypertension according to a new study published in the November issue of Journal of the American Medical Association. Wolfgang Winkelmayer, MD, Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass. et al., analyzed data from the Nurses’ Health Studies I and II to determine whether a link existed between consumption of caffeinated drinks and hypertension. Caffeine intake was ascertained from 155,594 women free from physician-diagnosed hypertension through regularly administered questionnaires over 12 years. When studying individual classes of caffeinated beverages, habitual coffee consumption was not associated with increased risk of hypertension. By contrast, consumption of cola beverages was associated with an increased risk of hypertension, independent of whether it was sugared or diet cola. (Winkelmayer,W.C., Stampfer, M.J., et al., “Habitual caffeine intake and the risk of hypertension in women.” JAMA. 2005;294:2330-2335.)