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  • Original Article
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Coffee drinking and risk of preterm birth

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 60, pages 610–613 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Objectives:

We analysed the association between coffee drinking before and during the three trimesters of pregnancy and the risk of preterm birth of babies normal for gestational age (NGA) or small for gestational age (SGA).

Methods:

Case–control study conducted in University clinics of North Italy. Cases were 502 women who delivered at <37 weeks of gestation. The controls included 1966 women who gave birth at term (⩾37 weeks of gestation) to healthy infants on randomly selected days at the hospitals where cases had been identified.

Results:

There was inverse association for coffee consumption in the third trimester of pregnancy in SGA cases compared to NGA (heterogeneity test between OR: χ12=5.6811 P<0.05). In comparison with not drinkers, all the ORs of overall intake of caffeine were closed near the unity for both SGA and NGA preterm birth.

Conclusion:

Compared with no consumption, a low consumption of coffee during pregnancy may not have significant effects on preterm birth.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Cristina Bosetti MD, for helping statistical analysis and Mrs Ivana Garimoldi for her editorial assistance. Partly supported by the Commission of the European Communities (contract no. QLK1-CT-2000-00069).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche ‘Mario Negri’, Milan, Italy

    F Chiaffarino, F Parazzini, L Chatenoud, E Ricci & V Chiantera

  2. I Clinica Ostetrico Ginecologica, Università di Milano, Milan, Italy

    F Parazzini, L Tozzi & C Maffioletti

  3. Clinica Ostetrico Ginecologica, Università di Milano, Ospedale S. Paolo, Milan, Italy

    L Fedele

Authors
  1. F Chiaffarino
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  2. F Parazzini
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  3. L Chatenoud
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  4. E Ricci
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  5. L Tozzi
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  6. V Chiantera
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  7. C Maffioletti
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  8. L Fedele
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to F Chiaffarino.

Additional information

Guarantor: F Parazzini.

Contributors: FP was the principal investigator of the study giving the study hypothesis and planning the study design, FC and LC analysed the data, FC and FP drafted the paper, ER and VC assisted in analyses and writing, LF contributed to the conception and design of the study, LT and CM was involved in the baseline surveys for the study, LC took part in planning the study and interpreting the data and commented on the manuscript.

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Chiaffarino, F., Parazzini, F., Chatenoud, L. et al. Coffee drinking and risk of preterm birth. Eur J Clin Nutr 60, 610–613 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602358

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602358

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