This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (19)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related article  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Chih-Hsing Wu, MD; Yi-Ching Yang, MD; Wei-Jen Yao, MD; Feng-Hwa Lu, MD; Jin-Shang Wu, MD; Chih-Jen Chang, MD

Arch Intern Med. 2002;162:1001-1006.

Background  Researchers have hypothesized that bone mineral density (BMD) may be influenced by chemical compounds such as caffeine, phytoestrogen, fluoride, and many compounds that are contained in tea extracts. Hence, the relationship between habitual tea consumption and BMD is an interesting issue.

Methods  Based on an epidemiological survey, we enrolled 497 men and 540 women, 30 years and older, in our study. All subjects were questioned about their habit of tea consumption and other lifestyle characteristics by means of a structured questionnaire. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry was used to measure the BMD of the total body, lumbar spine (L1-L4), hip neck, and Ward triangle regions.

Results  Five hundred two subjects (48.4%) were habitual tea drinkers, with a mean duration of tea consumption of approximately 10 years. Compared with nonhabitual tea drinkers, subjects with habitual tea consumption of 6 to 10 years showed higher lumbar spine BMDs, and those with consumption of more than 10 years showed the highest BMDs of all measured regions. Under the multiple stepwise regression models, sex, age, body mass index, total physical activity, and habit of tea consumption were the major significant variables for the different BMD regions. Regarding the behavioral characteristics of tea consumption, the duration of tea consumption was the only independent determinant for the BMDs.

Conclusion  Habitual tea consumption, especially for more than 10 years, has significant beneficial effects on BMD of the total body, lumbar spine, and hip regions in adults.

From the Departments of Family Medicine (Drs C.-H. Wu, Yang, Lu, J.-S. Wu, and Chang) and Nuclear Medicine (Dr Yao), National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati     What's this?

RELATED ARTICLE

Archives of Internal Medicine Reader's Choice: Continuing Medical Education
Arch Intern Med. 2002;162(9):1071-1072.
FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Higher dietary flavone, flavonol, and catechin intakes are associated with less of an increase in BMI over time in women: a longitudinal analysis from the Netherlands Cohort Study
Hughes et al.
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2008;88:1341-1352.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Tea drinking is associated with benefits on bone density in older women
Devine et al.
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2007;86:1243-1247.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Fluoride-Related Bone Disease Associated With Habitual Tea Consumption
Johnson et al.
Mayo Clin Proc. 2007;82:719-724.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Habitual Tea Consumption and Risk of Osteoporosis: A Prospective Study in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Cohort
Chen et al.
Am J Epidemiol 2003;158:772-781.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT