In reply
We greatly appreciate Dr Rust's interest in our work but disagree strongly with his statement that we presented a distorted view of our data and with his interpretation of our findings. His concern is that we did not acknowledge the disparity between the very small increase in average blood pressure and the 10% increase in relative risk of developing hypertension associated with drinking 1 cup of coffee a day, an increase in risk that he terms substantial.
We disagree that a 10% increase in risk (ie, a relative risk of 1.1) is substantial. Many investigators studying nutrition and health outcomes do not consider an association present unless the relative risk is at least 1.2 and statistically significant.1 A 10% increase in risk of hypertension, as seen in our study, is small and could easily be explained by small differences between coffee drinkers and non–coffee drinkers in health behaviors . . . [Full Text of this Article]
