More Word Of Wisdom Scientific Validation: Caffeine Linked To Urinary Incontinence

On February 27th, 1833, the first President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith Jr, warned of the dangers of hot drinks published the Word of Wisdom. Canonized as Section 89 of the Doctrine & Covenants, he wrote "hot drinks are not for the body or belly". Subsequent Church presidents were inspired to further define "hot drinks" as coffee and tea, and made Word of Wisdom compliance a temple worthiness issue. Based on this Dialogue Journal article, the Church began to enforce the Word of Wisdom as a commandment on December 28th, 1915.

Now we have more scientific evidence showing that the Lord and His prophets were ahead of their time. A newly-released report on a survey indicates that the amount of caffeine typically found in two cups of coffee could exacerbate, if not cause, male incontinence. The research suggests men who consume the most caffeine are more likely to have the problem than those who drank the least. The Daily Mail picked up the story, but the explanation published in News-Medical.net is also useful.

The study is the result of an analysis of 3960 men who participated in the National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys (NHANES) in 2005-2006 and 2007-08, in which it was discovered that a caffeine intake equivalent to just two cups of coffee per day (250 mg) was associated with increased prevalence of moderate-to-severe urinary incontinence (UI). The researchers looked at how many had urinary incontinence and how much caffeine they ate or drank, as well as how much water they took in from both foods and drinks. About 13 percent of the men reported a leaky bladder, but only 4.5 per cent had a problem considered moderate or severe - which is more than a few drops of urine leakage during the course of a month.

Overall, the men consumed an average of 169 milligrams of caffeine every day; the average cup of coffee contains around 125 milligrams.

-- Men in the upper quartile for caffeine consumption (>234 mg/day) were 1.72 times more likely to have moderate-to-severe UI than those in lower quartiles after adjustment for potential confounders. The Daily Mail describes them as being 72 percent more likely to have moderate to severe urinary incontinence. This is not inconsistent, but merely two different ways of describing the same results.

-- Those in the 90th percentile for caffeine intake (≥392 mg/day) were 2.08 times more likely to suffer from moderate-to-severe UI than those with lower intake.

Dr. Alayne Markland, the study's senior author from the University of Alabama, noted that the researchers also found no evidence for an association between water and total moisture intake and UI during the study. This leads to the conclusion that caffeine is the problem, perhaps irritating the bladder in some way.

All posts on this blog discussing scientific validation of the Word of Wisdom can be simultaneously displayed using the WOW Validation label.