Coffee Drinking Tied to Glaucoma

Yet more news in the debate over coffee's benefits and/or risks: A new study suggests a link between coffee and exfoliation glaucoma, a form of the disease that accounts for about 7% to 12% of cases. Noticing that Scandinavians, who drink the most coffee worldwide, also have the highest rates of exfoliation glaucoma, Boston-based researchers decided to investigate. They tracked more than 120,000 initially glaucoma-free subjects between 1980 and 2008, asking about their coffee consumption and examining their medical records.

They found that those who drank three or more cups a day had a significantly higher risk of exfoliation glaucoma, the Atlantic reports. That means a risk of vision loss, though researchers didn't specifically study that issue. On the bright side, according to the study, "the highest caffeine consumers were somewhat less likely to have hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, and myocardial infarction." (More coffee stories.)