Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29953981›Full record

ArticleNeuroepidemiology2018

Caffeine Consumption in First-Degree Relatives of Essential Tremor Cases: Evidence of Dietary Modification Before Disease Onset.

Elan D Louis, James H Meyers, Ashley D Cristal, Pam Factor-Litvak

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Neuroepidemiology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 37% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Caffeine in Aging Brains: Cognitive Enhancement, Neurodegeneration, and Emerging Concerns About Addiction.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Elan D LouisDepartment of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
James H MeyersDepartment of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Ashley D CristalDepartment of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Pam Factor-LitvakDepartment of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
Yale University · USColumbia University · US

Funding

Environmental Epidemiology of Essential TremorR01NS094607 · NINDS · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI LOUIS, ELAN D · 2016 to 2020
$3.9M
NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS094607
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCaffeine can exacerbate tremor. Reducing caffeine intake or switching to decaffeinated beverages can lessen tremor. Unaffected relatives of essential tremor (ET) cases often have mild, subclinical tremor. One question is whether the coffee and tea consumption pattern in these individuals differs from that of controls (Co).

methodsWe ascertained the patterns of coffee and tea intake using a structured questionnaire, and compared the use in unaffected first-degree relatives of ET cases (FD-ET) to the use in age-matched Co. Three measures of relative caffeinated coffee + tea to decaffeinated coffee + tea were constructed. Caffeine index 1 = (cups of caffeinated coffee + tea) - (cups of decaffeinated coffee + tea) consumed on the day of evaluation. Caffeine index 2 = (cups of caffeinated coffee + tea) - (cups of decaffeinated coffee + tea) consumed in a typical month. The percentage of coffee and tea that was caffeinated in a typical month was also calculated.

resultsThere were 263 individuals (190 FD-ET, 73 Co). Caffeine index 1 in FD-ET was less than 1-half that of Co (p = 0.001). Caffeine index 2 was similarly lower in FD-ET than Co (p = 0.027). The percentage of coffee and tea that was caffeinated in a typical month was also significantly lower in FD-ET than Co (p = 0.018).

conclusionThe balance of caffeinated to decaffeinated beverages is different in FD-ET than Co. These data raise several intriguing questions. Among these is whether relatives of ET cases modify their caffeine consumption before disease onset.

Indexed as

DietFamilyAgedCaffeineCoffeeEssential TremorFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRisk FactorsSurveys and QuestionnairesTeaCaffeineCoffeeTeaCaffeineClinicalCoffeeDietEpidemiologyEssential tremor

Identifiers

PMID29953981
PMCPMC6093796
OpenAlexW2810712740

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.