Consumption of coffee and tea and the risk of dementia – role of sex and vascular comorbidities

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundCoffee and tea consumption has been shown to associate with the risk of dementia. However, little is known about how sex and vascular comorbidities (type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia) modify this association.MethodThis is a multi‐center case‐control study. We recruited 278 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and 102 small‐vessel vascular dementia (VaD) patients aged 60 or older from three teaching hospitals in Taiwan from 2007 to 2010; controls (n = 468) were recruited from the health checkup program during the same period of time. The outcomes of this study are clinically diagnosed AD and VaD. Information on coffee and tea consumption and the history of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia were collected based on questionnaires and medical charts. A multinomial logistic regression model was utilized to evaluate 1) the association of coffee and tea consumption with dementia risk, and 2) how sex and vascular risk factors modified these associations.ResultDifferent combinations and quantities of coffee and tea consumption protected against AD and VaD. Our analyses demonstrated consumption of three or more cups of coffee or tea per day was associated with a decreased risk of AD [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.42; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.22‐0.78)] and VaD (aOR = 0.42; 95% CI = 0.19‐0.94). After stratification, these associations became more evident in females for AD (aOR = 0.15; 95% CI = 0.05‐0.46) and in males for VaD (aOR = 0.06; 95% CI = 0.01‐0.50). Similarly, hypertensive participants consuming higher quantities of coffee and tea had a decreased risk of AD (aOR = 0.30; 95% CI = 0.11‐0.78). Moreover, hypercholesterolemia significantly modified the association of coffee or tea consumption with the risk of dementia (Pinteraction < 0.001).ConclusionCoffee and tea consumption was associated with a decreased risk of AD and VaD. Sex and vascular comorbidities differentially modified the association of coffee and tea consumption with the risk of dementia.