Study: Daily coffee and tea consumption may reduce risk of stroke, dementia

In 2019, The Lancet published an analysis of the causes of death among Chinese residents from 1990 to 2017, and found that stroke was the leading cause of death. Similarly, data from the China Stroke Report 2019 showed that 1.57 million people died of stroke in my country in 2018 alone, accounting for 22.3% of the total mortality rate among Chinese residents.

Coffee and tea are two of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. Morning coffee and afternoon tea make up a day for many working people. Coffee contains caffeine and is a rich source of antioxidants and bioactive compounds. Tea, which contains caffeine, catechin polyphenols and flavonoids, has neuroprotective effects, such as anti-oxidative stress, anti-inflammation, and anti-apoptosis. Many previous studies have focused on coffee or tea alone to explore the health effects of the two alone, but few studies have discussed the combined effects of the two. In fact, the consumption of coffee and tea is closely related, and about 70% of people drink coffee and tea at the same time. But what I didn't expect was that drinking coffee and tea together can actually prevent stroke!

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A team from Tianjin Medical University conducted a study on the combined effects of "coffee + tea". The results showed that coffee and tea, whether consumed alone or together, can reduce the risk of stroke and dementia. Drinking 2-3 cups of coffee + 2-3 cups of tea a day can reduce the risk of stroke by 32% and the risk of dementia by 28%. The study was published in PLOS Medicine.

Image source: PLOS Medicine

This prospective cohort study included 365,682 participants from the UK Biobank, who were followed up for 10-14 years. Among the 365,000 participants, 45.7% were male, with an age range of 50 to 74 years, and an average age of 60.4±5.1 years.

During a median follow-up of 11.35 years, 10,051 participants (2.8%) had a stroke and 5,079 (1.4%) developed dementia.

Among all participants, 16.29% reported drinking 0.5-1 cups of coffee and ≥4 cups of tea per day, accounting for the largest proportion, followed by 13.68% of participants who reported drinking 0 cups of coffee and ≥4 cups of tea per day. In addition, 44,868 (12.27%) participants reported that they drank 2-3 cups of coffee and 2-3 cups of tea per day.

At the same time, data analysis showed that coffee intake (cups/day) was related to tea intake (r = +0.337, P decaffeinated coffee.

In summary, this large prospective cohort study found that:

1. Tea and coffee, whether consumed alone or in combination, are associated with a reduced risk of stroke, ischemic stroke, dementia, and vascular dementia.

2. Drinking coffee and tea together is associated with a lower risk of stroke and dementia than drinking only coffee or tea.

3. Participants who drank 2-3 cups of coffee and 2-3 cups of tea per day had about a 30% lower risk of stroke and dementia.

In conclusion, this study shows that moderate consumption of coffee and tea, either alone or in combination, is associated with a lower risk of stroke and dementia. If you want to drink beverages on a daily basis, you can choose coffee and tea as your first choice, which has a certain brain-protecting effect.

*Note: The dosage unit in this article is cup. 1 cup = 150 mL.

References:

Zhang Y, Yang H, Li S, Li WD, Wang Y. Consumption of coffee and tea and risk of developing stroke, dementia, and poststroke dementia: A cohort study in the UK Biobank. PLoS Med. 2021 Nov 16;18(11):e1003830. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003830. PMID: 34784347; PMCID: PMC8594796.