Coffee, tea and caffeine consumption in relation to osteoporotic fracture risk in a cohort of Swedish women

• Published in: Osteoporosis international Vol. 17; no. 7; pp. 1055 - 1064
• Main Authors: HALLSTRÖM, H, WOLK, A, GLYNN, A, MICHAËLSSON, K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Springer 2006; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Bone density; Caffeine; Caffeine - adverse effects; Calcium - metabolism; Calcium, Dietary - administration & dosage; Coffee; Coffee - adverse effects; Cohort Studies; Cohort study; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Epidemiology; Female; Fracture; Fractures; Hip Fractures - etiology; Hip joint; Humans; Injuries of the limb. Injuries of the spine; Medical sciences; MEDICIN; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; MEDICINE; Middle Aged; Osteoporosis; Osteoporosis - etiology; Osteoporosis. Osteomalacia. Paget disease; Per capita; Prospective Studies; Questionnaires; Risk; Tea; Tea - adverse effects; Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents; Sweden; Human; Consumption; CNS stimulant; Psychotropic; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Rheumatology; Fracture; Coffee; Trauma; Respiratory analeptic; Osteoporosis; Tea; Cohort study; Risk factor; Xanthine derivatives; Woman; Caffeine
• DOI: 10.1007/s00198-006-0109-y
• ISSN: 0937-941X; 1433-2965

Consumption of coffee and tea, and total intake of caffeine has been claimed to be associated with osteoporotic fracture risk. However, results of earlier studies lack consistency. We examined this relation in a cohort of 31,527 Swedish women aged 40-76 years at baseline in 1988. The consumption of coffee, caffeinated tea and the intake of caffeine were estimated from a self-administered food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Multivariate-adjusted hazards ratios (HRs) of fractures with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated by Cox proportional hazards models. During a mean follow-up of 10.3 years, we observed 3,279 cases with osteoporotic fractures. The highest (>330 mg/day) compared with the lowest (<200 mg/day) quintile of caffeine intake was associated with a modestly increased risk of fracture: HR 1.20 (95% CI: 1.07-1.35). A high coffee consumption significantly increased the risk of fracture (p for trend 0.002), whereas tea drinking was not associated with risk. The increased risk of fracture with both a high caffeine intake and coffee consumption was confined to women with a low calcium intake (<700 mg/day): HR 1.33 (95% CI: 1.07-1.65) with > or =4 cups (600 ml)/day of coffee compared to <1 cup (150 ml)/day. The same comparison but risk estimated for women with a high propensity for fractures (> or =2 fracture types) revealed a HR of 1.88 (95% CI: 1.17-3.00). In conclusion, our results indicate that a daily intake of 330 mg of caffeine, equivalent to 4 cups (600 ml) of coffee, or more may be associated with a modestly increased risk of osteoporotic fractures, especially in women with a low intake of calcium.