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Tea consumption and mortality after acute myocardial infarction
Kenneth J Mukamal1, Malcolm Maclure, James E Muller
1Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215, USA. kmukamal@caregroup.harvard.edu
Insights
Drinking tea before a heart attack is linked to lower mortality. This study found that regular tea drinkers had a reduced risk of death after acute myocardial infarction (heart attack).
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Epidemiology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Existing research suggests tea consumption may reduce mortality in cardiovascular disease patients.
- However, the specific impact of tea intake on mortality following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between pre-infarction tea consumption and long-term mortality in patients hospitalized with AMI.
- To determine if habitual tea intake influences survival rates after a heart attack.
Main Methods:
- A prospective cohort study involving 1900 patients hospitalized with confirmed AMI.
- Self-reported weekly caffeinated tea consumption (none, <14 cups, ≥14 cups) was assessed for the year preceding infarction.
- Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to analyze long-term mortality, adjusting for clinical and sociodemographic factors.
Main Results:
- Compared to non-drinkers, moderate (<14 cups/week) and heavy (≥14 cups/week) tea drinkers showed significantly lower mortality rates.
- Adjusted hazard ratios for mortality were 0.72 (95% CI, 0.55-0.94) for moderate and 0.56 (95% CI, 0.37-0.84) for heavy tea drinkers.
- The observed association between tea consumption and reduced mortality was consistent for both total and cardiovascular mortality.
Conclusions:
- Habitual tea consumption in the year prior to experiencing an acute myocardial infarction is associated with a significant reduction in post-infarction mortality.
- These findings suggest a potential cardioprotective effect of regular tea intake in patients recovering from a heart attack.
Background:
Some studies have suggested that tea consumption may be associated with lower mortality among individuals with cardiovascular disease, but the effects of tea consumption on mortality after acute myocardial infarction are unknown.
Methods And Results:
As part of the Determinants of Myocardial Infarction Onset Study, we performed a prospective cohort study of 1900 patients hospitalized with a confirmed acute myocardial infarction between 1989 and 1994, with a median follow-up of 3.8 years. Trained interviewers assessed self-reported usual weekly caffeinated tea consumption during the year before infarction with a standardized questionnaire. We compared long-term mortality according to tea consumption using Cox proportional hazards regression. Of the 1900 patients, 1019 consumed no tea (nondrinkers), 615 consumed <14 cups per week (moderate tea drinkers), and 266 consumed 14 or more cups per week (heavy tea drinkers). Compared with nondrinkers, age- and sex-adjusted mortality was lower among moderate tea drinkers (hazard ratio, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.89) and heavy tea drinkers (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.42 to 0.86). Additional adjustment for clinical and sociodemographic characteristics did not appreciably alter this association (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.55 to 0.94 for moderate tea drinkers; hazard ratio, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.37 to 0.84 for heavy tea drinkers). The association of tea and mortality was similar for total and cardiovascular mortality.
Conclusions:
Self-reported tea consumption in the year before acute myocardial infarction is associated with lower mortality after infarction.
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