Tea consumption is associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease in female but not male populations in Guangzhou, China

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES The association between tea consumption and risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) remains controversial. This study aimed to determine whether tea consumption has an effect on CHD risk in Chinese adults. SUBJECTS/METHODS In this hospital-based case-control study, 267 cases of CHD and 235 non-CHD controls were enrolled. Blood samples from all cases were examined. Cardiac function indices (left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular end-diastolic dimension, lactate dehydrogenase, and creatine kinase of the muscle or brain type), blood lipid index (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol), and blood coagulation function indices (fibrinogen and activated partial thromboplastin time) were recorded. Tea consumption of study participants was assessed by a specifically designed questionnaire. The baseline characteristics of the study populations were recorded, and CHD-related biomarkers were detected. Differences in baseline characteristics of the study participants were examined using t-tests for continuous variables and chi-squared tests for categorical variables. Unconditional logistic regression was used to measure the association between tea and CHD. RESULTS There were significant differences in cardiac function indices, blood lipid index, and blood coagulation indices between CHD cases and controls (P < 0.05). We found tea consumption reduced CHD risk in female participants (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.484, 95% CI: 0.242–0.968, P = 0.0403). Regarding the type of tea consumed, the risk of CHD was reduced in women who drank partially fermented tea (adjusted OR = 0.210, 95% CI: 0.084–0.522, P = 0.0008). Analytic results for the amount of tea consumed per unit time showed CHD risk was reduced in women who consumed 1–2 cups of tea per day (adjusted OR = 0.291, 95% CI: 0.131–0.643, P = 0.0023). A tea-drinking frequency of > 6 days/week was beneficial for CHD prevention (adjusted OR = 0.183, 95% CI: 0.049–0.679, P = 0.0112). When analyzed according to the duration of tea consumption, the risk of CHD was reduced in participants who had been drinking tea for 10–20 years (adjusted OR = 0.360, 95% CI: 0.137–0.946, P = 0.0382). CONCLUSIONS Tea consumption is associated with a reduced risk of CHD in female but not male populations in Guangzhou.