It is unlikely that moderate caffeine increases heart arrhythmia risks, U. S. researchers say.

It was found by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif., that those who reported drinking four or more cups of coffee daily had an 18 percent lower risk of hospitalization for heart rhythm disturbances and those drinking one to three cups each day had a 7 percent lower risk.

Lead author Dr. Arthur Klatsky said in a statement," Coffee drinking is related to lower risk of hospitalization for rhythm problems, but the association does not prove cause and effect, or that coffee has a protective effect,". "However, these data might be reassuring to people who drink moderate amounts of coffee that their habit is not likely to cause a major rhythm disturbance."

130,054 men and women, ages 18-90 were looked at by Klatsky and colleagues, with the majority age 50 and younger. About 2 percent i. e. 3,317 participants were hospitalized for rhythm disturbances. Fourteen percent in the study drank less than one cup of coffee a day, 42 percent drank one to three cups of coffee a day, 17 percent reported drinking four cups or more each day and about 27 percent were not coffee drinkers. (With Inputs from Agencies)