Lower mortality risk among Black tea drinkers

A prospective cohort study found that drinking black tea may be associated with moderately lower mortality risk. The risk was lowest among persons drinking two or more cups of tea per day. The findings are published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health conducted a study to evaluate the associations of tea consumption with all-cause and cause-specific mortality using data from the U.K. Biobank, where black tea drinking is common. They also assessed whether the associations differ by the use of common tea additives (milk and sugar), tea temperature, and genetic variants affecting the rate at which people metabolize caffeine. Relative to tea nondrinkers, participants who reported drinking 2 or more cups each day had 9 to 13 percent lower risk for mortality. The associations were observed regardless of whether participants also drank coffee, added milk or sugar to their tea, their preferred tea temperature, or genetic variants related to caffeine metabolism. According to the authors, their findings suggest that tea, even at higher levels of intake, can be part of a healthy diet.

Ref:

Maki Inoue-Choi et al,Annals of Internal Medicine,DOI:10.7326/M22-0041