Coffee and Tea Consumption in Relation to Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis in the Women's Health Initiative Observational...

Area of Science:

• Rheumatology
• Epidemiology
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting joints.
• Dietary factors, including tea and coffee, are investigated for their potential role in RA development.
• Understanding lifestyle associations is crucial for RA prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between tea and coffee consumption and the risk of developing older-onset rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
• Utilized data from the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study for a large-scale prospective analysis.

Main Methods:

• Prospective cohort study involving 76,853 women over a 3-year observation period.
• Self-administered questionnaires assessed daily tea and coffee consumption.
• Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models and trend tests analyzed the relationship between consumption and incident RA.

Main Results:

• No increased risk of incident RA was observed with coffee consumption, regardless of preparation method or amount.
• A statistically significant positive association was found between caffeinated, nonherbal tea consumption and incident RA (HR 1.40, CI 1.01-1.93).
• Trend tests indicated a link between caffeinated tea intake and RA incidence (p=0.03).

Conclusions:

• Coffee consumption is not associated with an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis in older women.
• Daily consumption of caffeinated, nonherbal tea may be associated with a small increase in the risk of incident RA.
• Further research is warranted to explore the specific mechanisms linking caffeinated tea to RA pathogenesis.