Caffeine Consumption and Rhinologic Symptom Severity

Caffeine is the most widely consumed habit-forming drug in the world. A relationship has been proposed between caffeine consumption and rhinologic symptoms. To determine whether the potential deleterious effects of caffeine withdrawal are outweighed by the rhinologic symptom benefits, our group conducted a prospective study of patients presenting with rhinologic complaints at local clinics. Rhinologic symptom severity was assessed using the SNOT-22 and the frequency and quantity of daily caffeine consumption was assessed by questionnaire. A total of 226 participants completed the study. No correlation was found between caffeine consumption and total SNOT-22 (P > .05), rhinologic SNOT-22 subscale (P > .05), or tertiles of low, medium, and high caffeine consumers (P = .18). This suggests that caffeine consumption does not have an appreciable effect on rhinologic symptoms.