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Black tea consumption lowers fracture risk in older women
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Women older than 80 years consuming at least one cup of black tea daily had a significantly lower risk for osteoporotic fracture and hip fracture vs. women who reported consuming less than one cup of black tea weekly, according to recent study findings presented at The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Annual Meeting.
Richard Prince, MD, FRACP, MRCP, of Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Australia, and colleagues analyzed data from a prospective cohort study of 1,188 women older than 80 years who completed food frequency and beverage questionnaires. Researchers analyzed incidents for osteoporotic fracture hospitalization or death during 10 years using the Australian Hospital Morbidity Data system; Cox regression analysis was used to examine HRs for incident fracture. Researchers used U.S. Department of Agriculture flavonoid databases to calculate flavonoid intake.
Within the cohort, 288 women experienced any osteoporotic fracture; 212 women experienced major osteoporotic fracture; 129 women experienced hip fracture; tea accounted for 75% of total flavonoid intake.
Researchers found that women in the highest tertile of flavonoid intake had a lower risk for serious osteoporotic fracture (HR = 0.65; 95% CI, 0.47-0.88), major osteoporotic fracture (HR = 0.66; 95% CI, 0.45-0.95) and hip fracture (HR = 0.58; 95% CI, 0.36-0.95) vs. women in the lowest tertile of flavonoid intake.
Researchers also found that for each one cup per day of black tea consumed, there was a 9% decrease in the risk for any serious osteoporotic fracture vs. women who consumed less than one cup black tea per week (HR = 0.91; 95% CI, 0.84-0.99); however, the relationship was not significant after adjusting for bone mineral density, according to researchers.
“Women who drink black tea, a major dietary flavonoid, have a [substantially] lower fracture risk,” the researchers wrote. “The health benefits of tea may extend to the skeletal system.” – by Regina Schaffer
Reference:
Prince R, et al. Abstract FR0309. Presented at: The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Annual Meeting; Oct. 9-12, 2015; Seattle.
Disclosure: Prince reports no relevant financial disclosures.