Green tea consumption and cause-specific mortality: Results from two prospective cohort studies in China.

Abstract

BackgroundGreen tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages in Asia. While a possible protective role of green tea against various chronic diseases has been suggested in experimental studies, evidence from human studies remains controversial.MethodsWe conducted this study using data from Shanghai Men's Health Study (SMHS) and Shanghai Women's Health Study (SWHS), two population-based prospective cohorts of middle-aged and elderly Chinese adults in urban Shanghai, China. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality associated with green tea intake were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression models.ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 8.3 and 14.2 years for men and women, respectively, 6517 (2741 men and 3776 women) deaths were documented. We found that green tea consumption was inversely associated with risk of all-cause mortality (HR 0.95; 95% CI, 0.90–1.01), particularly among never-smokers (HR 0.89; 95% CI, 0.82–0.96). The inverse association with cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality (HR 0.86; 95% CI, 0.77–0.97) was slightly stronger than that with all-cause mortality. No significant association was observed between green tea intake and cancer mortality (HR 1.01; 95% CI, 0.93–1.10).ConclusionsGreen tea consumption may be inversely associated with risk of all-cause and CVD mortality in middle-aged and elderly Chinese adults, especially among never smokers.