January 21, 2008
Statistically Insignificant Study Shows Caffeine/Miscarriage Correlation
If only results of this Kaisar study came out on Friday. Then we may have seen more interesting placards at Walk for Life on Saturday. "Coffee Kills," "Vegan, Caffeine-Free, and Pro-Life," for example.
Why such a small study is making headlines in print and on television, we have no idea. The lives of pregnant women are already so limited, what with no drinking allowed, no drugging allowed, no hot-tubbing allowed, etc, etc. Despite the fact that 80% of miscarriages are caused by chromosomal abnormalities and have absolutely nothing to do with behavioral or lifestyle choices, a recent, small-scale Kaiser study says that women in the first 16 weeks of pregnancy who drink 200 mg or more of caffeine are twice as likely to have a miscarriage than those who consume less or none at all. The Oakland-based study included a paltry 1,063 women, with 16% (or 170 women, according to our math) suffering miscarriages.
There are, of course, some reasonable arguments for lowering caffeine intake during pregnancy. It is commonsensical to to suggest moderation in all areas of life during pregnancy. But is there really a need to freak out pregnant women any more than they're already freaked out? If scientists are calling the study important but statistically insignificant, aren't they jumping the gun just a little bit with all the warnings?
On the upside, Safeway now may see a decline in Taster's Choice Coffee theft.
Read more about the study here or here.
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Good thing one shot of espresso is only 90 milligrams, which is less than a cup of coffee (120 mg). You deserve a latte today, Deborah!
where on earth did you find that coffee mug? it totally makes this entry extra special...
don't believe the hype deborah. you can still eat things like really good fish (ebisu, 9th/irving) just don't eat any wasabi, since it's a stimulant.
half glass of wine every day is fine too.
as for cooked fish, watch out for the predatory one's, older and larger that eat the smaller fish. they are the only one's with mercury problems. any good restaurant will know if you ask.
It's important because the findings are quite legitimate. It's statistically insignificant because it's just one study that has not been replicated yet. It will become statistically significant if/when other "small scale" studies have been conducted and similar results concluded.
Previous studies on caffeine in pregnant women have been sorely lacking in internal validity (they didn't take into account lots of things that could have accounted for the results). So, no, just because someone claims that THIS study is not statistically significant doesn't mean you should pooh pooh the research. If anything it means you should be eager to see this study replicated.
What should be pooh poohed are people like you who misrepresent stuff. 1100 women is hardly a paltry sample. Instead of spouting off utter nonsense, you should be looking at the research in question. If their claims are absurdly broad and full of maybes, then, yeah more women should have been used. Otherwise, they did just fine with 1100 women.
And 80% of miscarriages? Oh, dear. What are a few extra words between friends, right? The good doctor said UP TO. But you know, they're equivalent phrases, right?
Oh, I know looking at stuff objectively is just such a pain for ya Debbie, isn't? Cause you're the ultimate authority, right? Relax. Have a smoke and a nice glass o cognac. I hear that bush is looking for someone to help him interpret sigh-en-tiff-ick things.
Excessive caffine intake also causes paranoia, aggressive behavior, defensiveness, and shrill, jittery hyperbole.
i don't buy it zippy. kaiser is not known for their research, in case you hadn't noticed. show me an hmo that is.
besides, did they have all of these women living in labs under extreme scrutiny while they pre-screened them for every other single possible cause for a miscarriage?
my 105 pound wife had a cup or two a day and she was fine, as is our beautiful and healthy girl.
there are so many other things that affect these things that i don't think this is science. it's statistical masturbation.
see whatever you want from the numbers.
who paid for the study i wonder?
that usually tells you where the motive lies.
i think your diet, your genetics, your relative happiness/lack of stress have a hell of a lot more to do with these things than coffee.
I think everyone should do the following about their health:
PANIC!!!!!!!
In other news, an insurance and health provider has defined a common activity as exclusionary for coverage. Film at 11.
sucka, the study defines a risk not a guarantee that a pregnant woman using caffeine will miscarry. Sheesh.
Did the study control for every single possible confounding variable? I doubt it. But if you read the Chron's oh so scary scientific mumbo jumbo you'd have read that this study controled for many more factorys than previous research.
Eh? So what you drink is not part of your diet? Oookay.
It's amusing how dependent you guys are upon your drugs.
Caffeine could cause a miscariiage in 2% of women who would already be highly likely yo have miscarriages because the smoke and drink too!
this is all BS
Everything in moderation.
Too much water kills too!
Who are these lame asses who do these studies everyday?