Coffee and Tea Drinkers: Rejoice in New Cardiovascular Outcome Data

Coffee and black tea, respectively, are the two most consumed beverages worldwide. In the United States, 65% of the population drinks coffee daily, and worldwide, the prevalence is 30% to 40%.^1-3 Both drinks contain caffeine, raising questions about the effects of daily, moderate-to-large consumption on the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality.

Two recent studies shed light on the use of these beverages. The first study, reported from the UK Biobank, is on the impact of coffee subtypes on incident cardiovascular disease, arrhythmias, and mortality.⁴ Coffee was divided by type into decaffeinated, ground, and instant and by number of cups per day. The control group were non-coffee drinkers. A total of 449,563 participants, who were a mean age of 58 years and 55.3% female, were followed for 12.5±0.7 years.

Ground and instant coffee consumption, but not decaffeinated coffee consumption, were associated with a reduction in arrhythmia at 1 to 5 cups per day. Ground, instant, and decaffeinated coffee were all associated with reduced cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. The greatest reduction in all-cause mortality was with decaffeinated, followed by ground and then instant coffee. The major limitation of this study is that the data are based on participant self-reporting. Coffee consumption was assumed to be constant throughout the follow-up period.

In a separate prospective cohort study from the UK Biobank, tea consumption was evaluated with a focus on all-cause and cause-specific mortality.⁵ The cohort included 498,043 men and women aged 40 to 69 years. Tea consumption was self-reported, and participants were followed for 11.2 years. Higher tea consumption of 2 to 10 or more cups per day was associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality. These findings are independent of participant coffee consumption.

These data suggest that coffee and tea drinkers should rejoice, and these beverages may be enjoyed as a healthy activity.

References:

1. Melissa Gunter. Tea Drinkers vs. Coffee Drinkers: 30 Statistics to Know in 2022. Coffee Affection. August 24, 2022. Accessed November 7, 2022. https://coffeeaffection.com/tea-drinkers-vs-coffee-drinkers-statistics/
2. World Coffee Consumption Statistics. Coffee Rank. October 30, 2020. Accessed November 7, 2022. https://coffee-rank.com/world-coffee-consumption-statistics/
3. Tea Association of the USA Inc. Tea Fact Sheet – 2019-2020. Updated March 12, 2020. Accessed November 7, 2022. https://www.teausa.com/teausa/images/Tea_Fact_Sheet_2019_-_2020._PCI_update_3.12.2020.pdf
4. Chieng D, Canovas R, Segan L, et al. The impact of coffee subtypes on incident cardiovascular disease, arrhythmias, and mortality: long-term outcomes from the UK Biobank. Eur J Prev Cardiol. Published online September 27, 2022. doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwac189
5. Inoue-Choi M, Ramirez Y, Cornelis MC, de González AB, Freedman ND, Loftfield E. Tea consumption and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the UK Biobank: a prospective cohort study. Ann Intern Med. 2022;175:1201-1211. doi:10.7326/M22-0041