Another Cup?

Well, it turns out that "researchers" (don't you just love that generalization?) are now finding that caffeinated coffee isn't all bad for you, but they can't tell you why.

The findings of this latest study by Janet Hildebrand and team show some sort of correlation between drinking 4 or more cups (that's 6oz) of caffeinated coffee per day and a decreased risk of throat cancer...though the claim being made is that there is causation effect from the coffee (in other words, drinking the coffee decreases your risk of throat cancer).

Now, as a scientist, I have lots of experience going to the library and reviewing other people's research.  In fact, as a scientist, you do that about 75% of your day (20% of your day is doing the actual lab science, and 5% of your day is sleeping).  So, as a scientist, I'm reviewing this work and asking myself these questions:

1. How common is throat cancer that you'd need to seek out a specific cure?
2. How likely is it that people who drink A LOT of coffee are doing other things to would really be the prevention of throat cancer?
3. Is the coffee nowadays the same coffee as what has been consume for the past 30 years?  You can't tell me that the actual processing or the growing is the same with all the pesticides and whatnot.

I mean, perhaps there's something to this, but perhaps, just MAYBE this is not a causation relationship at all.  Perhaps the lifestyles of people who drink 4+ cups of coffee per day are actually what prevent throat cancer.

What I guess pisses me off about these studies is that they only look at one little correlation and they miss the big picture.

For example, drinking 4+ cups of coffee per day may help lower your risk of getting throat cancer, but it significantly increases your hypertension- not the RISK of hypertension, it GIVES you hypertension (that's high blood pressure).  There's also a very strong causation relationship between drinking a lot of caffeine and having insomnia, lack of creativity, anger problems...

The list goes on and on.

So, I guess my point about this study is: who cares.  You shouldn't.