IN RESPONSE:
We agree that the results of our analysis do not provide evidence for a causal relationship between coffee drinking and reduced risk for all-cause and cause-specific mortality. We unfortunately cannot control hyperbole generated by the lay press, although we made every effort to stress the limitations of observational analyses in our interactions with journalists. As suggested, a clinical trial could provide more definitive evidence on whether coffee drinking directly affects health, and we welcome such an initiative.
Dr. Cainzos-Achirica and colleagues and Drs. Kivimaki and Ferrie suggest that residual confounding by SES may have contributed to the observed ...
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Author, Article, and Disclosure Information
Marc J. Gunter,
International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France (M.J.G., N.M.)
Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom (D.C.M., E.R.)
Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M16-2945.
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