Printed in U.SA. COFFEE DRINKING AND MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION IN YOUNG WOMEN: AN UPDATE

We previously published an interim anal-ysis of the risk of nonfatal first myocardial infarction in women less than 50 years old in relation to the recent consumption of caffeine-containing coffee, based on data from a case-control study that was nearing completion (1). The risk of myocardial in-farction for women who drank caffeine-containing coffee was estimated relative to that for women who did not drink caffeine-containing coffee; women who drank decaf-feinated coffee were not excluded from this analysis. In response to a suggestion that we assess women who drank caffeine-con-taining coffee exclusively in relation to women who drank no coffee at all (neither caffeine-containing nor decaffeinated), we did so in the final data set. We also repeated the interim analysis. The results are pre-sented here. DATA COLLECTION Data in the completed study were col-lected from June 1976 to June 1979, whereas the interim analysis used data col-lected before March 1979. The methods have been described in detail (1). Cases: The final case series consisted of 491 women aged 30-49 years who gave no history of previous myocardial infarction or treated angina pectoris and whose coffee drinking and smoking habits were known. Discharge summaries, when available, were reviewed and only patients with evidence Received for publication October 27, 1986