Endometrial Cancer in Relation to Coffee, Tea, and Caffeine Consumption: A Prospective Cohort Study Among Middle-Aged Women in Sweden

Abstract

This study aimed to add to prospective data on the possible inverse association between coffee consumption and endometrial cancer risk, already supported by several case-control studies. Coffee and tea consumption and possible confounding factors were assessed among 42,270 women aged 30–49 years at enrollment in 1991–1992 in the Swedish Women's Lifestyle and Health cohort study, with complete follow-up through 2009. We calculated caffeine intake per day; Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate multivariable relative risks (mRR) for endometrial cancer with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). One hundred forty-four endometrial cancers were diagnosed during follow-up. Women with and without endometrial cancer had a similar mean daily coffee consumption (549 vs. 547 g), tea consumption (104 vs. 115 g), and caffeine intake (405 vs. 406 mg). Compared to those consuming <2 cups of coffee per day, women consuming >3 cups had a mRR of 1.56 (95% CI: 0.94–2.59; P for trend = 0.17). Compared with the lowest tertile of caffeine intake, the highest tertile had a mRR of 1.32 (95% CI: 0.87–1.99; P for trend = 0.27). Our study provides no convincing evidence of an association between coffee consumption, tea consumption, or caffeine intake and endometrial cancer risk among middle-aged women.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Mrs. Pouran Almstedt, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, for data management; Mrs. Margrethe Meo, Cancer Registry of Norway, for secretarial assistance; and Mrs. Trudy Perdrix-Thoma for editorial help.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Japanese Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research, the Swedish Cancer Society, and the Swedish Research Council. The work was carried out at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.