Impact of coffee and other selected factors on general mortality and mortality due to cardiovascular disease in Croatia.

In Croatia, the mortality rate is higher than that in the countries of the European Union (EU), and consumption of coffee is moderate compared to the EU countries. The study examined the effects of coffee consumption on all-cause (general) mortality, mortality due to cardiovascular disease, and survival. Analyses were based on data obtained from an epidemiological longitudinal study started in 1969 with follow-ups in 1972, including 1,571 men and 1,793 women aged 35-59 years, and in 1982, including 1,093 men and 1,330 women. The sample was age- and gender-stratified and included urban and rural populations from three coastal and three continental regions of Croatia. During the observation period from spring 1972 to the end of 1999, 568 men and 382 women died. In total, 254 men and 181 women died due to cardiovascular disease. The sample was classified in 4 groups: non-drinkers, consumption of coffee sometimes, regularly 1-2 cup(s), and regularly more than 2 cups per day. Apart from coffee, the effects of diastolic blood pressure, smoking habit, well-being, stomach ulcer, and resident status were analyzed. Data on general mortality and mortality due to cardiovascular disease were also analyzed. The influence of region and the effects of diastolic pressure and smoking habit on general mortality and cardiovascular disease-associated mortality were confirmed in both the sexes. No significant effects of coffee consumption on general mortality and mortality due to cardiovascular disease were found among men. Positive effects of coffee on general mortality (p = 0.0089) but not on cardiovascular disease-associated mortality were observed among women. Women who regularly drank coffee 1-2 cup(s) per day had a significantly lower risk of all-cause death adjusted for age, region, smoking, diastolic blood pressure, feeling of well-being, and history of stomach ulcer (relative risk = 0.631; p = 0.0033; confidence interval: 0.464-0.857). The role of coffee consumption on mortality was less relevant than other variables. However, it cannot be completely neglected in women.

Tuberculosis pulmonar inactiva y reactividad bronquial inespecífica / Secondary inactive pulmonary tuberculosis and non specific bronchial reactivity

Bronchial reactivity to methacoline was examined in three groups of smokers (N=93): subjects with secondary inactive pulmonary tuberculosis (TPI) 2 years after beginning of treatment (N=44); subjects with asymptomatic chronic bronchitis (N=25) and healthy controls (N=24). Mean PC20FEV1 was 9.54 (SD 6.05), 11.12 (SD 5.42) and 13.74 (SD 4.7) respectively (tuberculosis vs control p<0.02). According to the arbitrary criteria for bronchial asthma, nonspecific hyperrreactivity was present in 50 percent of subjects with TPI, in 37.5 percent of bronchitis patients and in 16 percent of control subjects. No differences was found with regard to PC20FEV1, the chemotherapeutic regimen (9 or 12 months of therapy), results of tuberculin test (normo and hyperreactive) and X-ray findings determined before the onset of treatment. Mehalanobis statistical analysis with respect to smoking index, basal ventilatory function test and nonspecific bronchial reactivity grouped together healthy volunteers and subjects with a history of pulmonary tuberculosis apart from the group with asymptomatic chronic bronchitis