Regional coffee consumption and mortality from ischemic heart disease in Finland.

In Finland the mortality from ischemic heart disease is highest in North Karelia and lowest in Southwest Finland. In this study the consumption of coffee has been measured from the total sales in the different areas of Finland to see if it correlates with the mortality from heart disease. North Karelia had higher coffee sales per inhabitant than Southwest Finland. This finding reinforces the view that carefully controlled dietary studies are needed to establish the role of coffee in the mortality from ischemic heart disease.