title: Coffee, tea, and lifestyle.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous reports have indicated that coffee drinking is associated with an unhealthy lifestyle, compared with tea drinking, which may confound the effect in relation to coronary risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a population sample of 2,400 25- to 64-year-old men and women, associations of lifestyle factors with coffee and tea consumption were analyzed. Lifestyle factors were related to four realms of behavior: smoking, eating, drinking, and physical activity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall response rate exceeded 77%. Twenty-two behavioral factors were included in the analysis and controlled for age and sex. Mean daily cigarette consumption, the consumption of main fat sources (meat and sausages) and lemonade drinking increased with coffee and decreased with tea consumption. Conversely, intake of fresh fruits, drinking of juice or mineral water, and physical activity on the way to work decreased with coffee and increased with tea. The strongest associations were between coffee, than tea, and cigarette smoking. Controlling smoking (and physical activity) changed trends mainly with respect to alcoholic drinks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude that drinking coffee is positively associated with factors that promote coronary heart disease, while drinking tea is associated with a preventive lifestyle. Factors supporting these results were found located in all realms of lifestyle for both for coffee and tea. Therefore, investigations on the health effects of coffee and tea must be carefully controlled for confounding behavioral parameters.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Sozialmedizin, Medical School, University Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.forename: H P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Bischof
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kunze
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D015982:Bias; D003069:Coffee; D004032:Diet; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012107:Research Design; D012907:Smoking; D013662:Tea
chemical_list: D003069:Coffee; D013662:Tea