The answer as to “which doctors drink the most coffee?” is orthopedic surgeons followed by radiologists, but there’s more to the recent study than that.
The study considered 766 qualified doctors (425 men, 341 women), made up from the following specialties:
201 internal medicine,
76 general surgery,
67 anesthetics,
54 radiology,
48 orthopedics,
43 gynecology,
36 neurology,
23 neurosurgery,
96 other specialties.
For the data, the researchers collated results from staff canteens’ electronic payment systems. A limitation with the study is that just one hospital was examined — a teaching hospital located in Switzerland.
It was found that 84 percent (644) of doctors purchased coffee at one of the hospital canteens at least once per day, and they consumed 70, 772 during the course of a year. With the different medical specialties, orthopedic surgeons purchased the most, at around 189 per person per year. Anesthetists purchased the least coffee at just 39 per year.
Male doctors purchased far more coffee than female medics, at 128 per year compared with 86. Males also tended to purchase stronger forms of coffee, like espresso. Another fact was the more senior the doctor, the more coffees they tended to consume.
The study has an important basis, especially if other comparative studies are conducted, for many doctors use coffee as a stimulant and excessive coffee use can have safety implication for patents, especially with those carrying out surgery.
The research into the coffee drinking habits of the medical profession is suitably published in the British Medical Journal, with the study headed: “Black medicine: an observational study of doctors’ coffee purchasing patterns at work.”
In other coffee related news, Karen Graham recently reported how people who drink regular or decaffeinated coffee in moderation have been found to live slightly longer than those who don’t drink coffee. Furthermore,coffee drinkers are less likely to die from a number of chronic diseases. Adding to Digital Journal’s recent coffee stories, it was also reported that drinking an amount of coffee equivalent to a double espresso three hours before going to sleep affects the body clock, sending it back by an hour. This, evidently, has sleep implications.
