Black tea consumption and risk of stroke in women and men.

PURPOSE: Our aim was examine the association between black tea consumption and risk of total stroke and stroke types in a prospective study.

METHODS

A total of 74,961 Swedish women and men who were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer at baseline in 1997 were followed up through December 2008. Tea consumption was assessed with a questionnaire at baseline. Stroke cases were ascertained from the Swedish Hospital Discharge Registry.

RESULTS

During a mean follow-up of 10.2 years, we ascertained 4089 cases of first stroke, including 3159 cerebral infarctions, 435 intracerebral hemorrhages, 148 subarachnoid hemorrhages, and 347 unspecified strokes. After adjustment for other risk factors, high tea consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk of total stroke; however, there was no dose-response relation (P for trend = .36). Compared with no tea consumption, the multivariable relative risk for four or more cups per day (median, 5) was 0.79 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62-0.998). The corresponding relative risks were 0.80 (95% CI, 0.61-1.04) for cerebral infarction and 0.68 (95% CI, 0.35-1.30) for hemorrhagic stroke.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that daily consumption of four or more cups of black tea is inversely associated with risk of stroke.