Question: In a new study by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), researchers explored how caffeine can serve as a “mild anti – depressant”. They concluded that “drinking several cups of coffee daily appears to reduce the risk of suicide”. Data pulled in from three large studies in the US showed that the suicide risk of those who drank two to four cups of caffeinated coffee a day was about half of those who drank decaffeinated coffee or very little or no coffee. In the studies, a respondent’s caffeine consumption was assessed every four years through a questionnaire. The respondents were all adults, and the study was published online. The authors,however, cautioned the public from increasing coffee intake as it could result in “unpleasant side effects”. “Overall, our results suggest that there is little further benefit for consumption above two to three cups/day or 400 mg of caffeine/day,” wrote the researchers. The authors observed that there` was no major difference in suicide risk for adults who drank two to three cups a day from those who drank four cups or more.Which of the following shaped graph would best capture the above paragraph(x – axis represents “coffee intake” and “Y – axis represents “suicidal tendency”)?
Risk of those who drank 2 to 4 cups of coffee was about half of those who drank almost no coffee.
Therefore, the graph would be a straight line from 2 to 4, and it is falling to half its value from 0 cups.
Therefore, it will look closest to an L shaped curve.
Hence, option (e).