A recent study shows that when it comes to coffee, caffeine is safe for men -- but might be risky for women.

In a recent report published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that the risk of high blood pressure didn't greatly increase or decrease for men depending on how much coffee they drank each day.

However, the study found that women were a different story. Depending on how much coffee they drink, women could be more at risk, according to the study.

Those women who were occasional coffee drinkers -- three cups or less a day -- had a greater risk of developing high blood pressure than non-coffee drinkers or heavy coffee drinkers. Researchers also found that healthy women who drank at least six cups of coffee per day were no more likely than non-coffee drinkers to develop high blood pressure over the next

University Health Services clinical director Dr. Evan Pattishall said it isn't known for sure why caffeine causes the blood pressure to increase. "Blood pressure and coffee has been a controversial topic in studies in the past and still is a little now," Pattishall said. "There are a couple different theories on how the caffeine affects the body, so without knowing why the blood pressure goes up, we can't really predict why the tolerance occurs. It is a phenomena that is documented that seems to hold true."

Some students who are coffee drinkers said they haven't given much thought to the health effects of coffee.

Julie Davis (senior-architectural engineering) said she never thought about blood pressure in regard to her coffee drinking habits. "I just started [drinking coffee] this semester because I have 8 a.m. classes," Davis said. "I hate the taste, but I just really need energy."

Like Davis, Sara Ross (sophomore-nursing) drinks coffee to help her wake up in the mornings. "I have clinical in Philipsburg at 6:30 in the morning, so I leave by 4:45," Ross said.

Ross said she started drinking coffee in 10th grade because she liked the taste, but she only drinks about two cups of coffee per day. "I work out, watch my diet and I only drink a little coffee, so I feel like high blood pressure isn't a concern for me," she said.

The findings of the study come from an 11-year analysis of 6,400 Dutch men and women who were, on average, about 40 years old.