Habitual Tea Consumption Increases the Incidence of Metabolic Syndrome in Middle-Aged and Older Individuals

Abstract

In middle-aged and elderly individuals, the relationship between tea consumption and incident metabolic syndrome (MetS) is still unclear. Therefore, this study intends to figure out the relationship between tea-drinking frequency and MetS in rural middle-aged and older Chinese residents. In the Northeast China Rural Cardiovascular Health Study, 3632 middle-aged or older individuals (mean age 57 ± 8, 55.2% men) without MetS were included at baseline during 2012–2013 and were followed up on between 2015–2017. Participants showing differential tea consumption frequency were divided into the following classes: non-habitual tea drinkers, occasional tea drinkers, 1–2 times/day drinkers, and ≥3 times/day drinkers. Data showed that non-habitual tea drinking was more common among women. The frequency of tea consumption was higher in ethnic groups other than Han and among singles, as well as in concurrent smokers and drinkers and individuals with primary or lower educational status. The increasing tea consumption was in line with baseline elevations in body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and AST/ALT ratio. Multivariate logistic regression analysis confirmed that occasional tea drinking increased the incidence of low HDL-C [OR (95% CI): 1.268 (1.015, 1.584)], high waist circumference [OR (95% CI): 1.336 (1.102, 1.621)], and MetS [OR (95% CI): 1.284 (1.050, 1.570)]. In addition, 1–2 times/day tea drinking increased the cumulative incidence of high TG [OR (95% CI): 1.296 (1.040, 1.616)], high waist circumference [OR (95% CI): 1.296 (1.044, 1.609)] and MetS [OR (95% CI): 1.376 (1.030, 1.760)]. We demonstrated that regular tea consumption is correlated with a greater incidence of metabolic disorders and MetS. Our findings may help clarify the contradictory association reported between tea drinking and MetS development in middle-aged and older residents of rural China.

Association of Drinking Herbal Tea with Activities of Daily Living among Elderly: A Latent Class Analysis

“…Besides the benefits to physical function, many studies reported that tea consumption was also associated with a lower risk of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, genital warts, and obesity [ 50 , 51 , 52 ]. Although there are controversies regarding the benefits and risks of tea consumption, the health-promoting benefits of tea outweigh its few reported toxic effects [ 50 , 53 ].…”

“…The survey did not collect such data, so it was not analyzed. Fourth, this study might also be subject to immortal time bias [ 53 ] and the healthy worker effect, as only individuals alive had the opportunity to continue drinking herbal tea or tea. Similarly, the presence of current or former smokers and alcohol drinkers in the study showing lower rates of ADL disability could also be attributed to the immortal time bias.…”