Excess Coffee May Be Linked To Early Death

Mr.Intel writes "Should we believe it? Those of us under 55 who drink a lot of coffee – more than four cups per day – may be at greater risk of an early death. And not just death from heart problems, but death from all causes. The study, published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings (abstract), followed people for almost two decades, and found that in both sexes, younger people were more likely to die of anything than people who drank less."

Comments

Re:causation versus correlation

[Anonymous Coward]

Totally agree.

I drink a lot of coffee, but it's probably the whole 75 hour work weeks that lead me to do so that are the problem (and the associated lack of sleep and terrible diet).

Make up your mind, dammit!

[JustAnotherIdiot]

Sometimes they say coffee is beneficial and helpful.
Or even sometimes they say it actually lowers the risk of death.

Other times they say it's horrible and should be avoided.
Can you please make up your minds already? |:

Re:Make up your mind, dammit!

[GLMDesigns]

It's the inane hyperbole of science reporters that make the situation worse. Reporting and sensationalizing science news without taking things into context creates this yo-you effect. (As with most /.ers I did not RTFA so I'm assuming basic competence in the original study.)

Re:causation versus correlation

[idontgno]

Stop considering taking stock tips from random slashdotters. Not even as a joke.

That's almost worse than trolling "Ask Slashdot" for career advice.

Re:Juan Valdez

[mcgrew]

I should be dead, because I've been drinking a whole pot every day for over 40 years. But then, I'm in the middle of few Bell curves.

Perhaps there's no causation behind this correlation? Perhaps what kills you isn't the coffee (like you said humorously) but substituting coffee for sleep? If a and b or correlated, sometimes the causative factor is c which triggers both a and b.

I drink a lot of coffee, but I also sleep 7 to 9 hours a night. This needs further study.

Re:Life without coffee?

[CastrTroy]

This is why I just make my coffee at home. Even if you use really good beans, Even if you buy really expensive beans (fresh roasted and all that) you can still make a cup of coffee at home for under 50 cents. If you buy cheaper coffee it can be made for under a quarter. When they say "for the price of a coffee a day" they are usually referring to a coffee you buy from a coffee shop. Somewhere around $2. So if you make it at home, you can have your cake and eat it too. Save the money, and still drink your coffee.