Green tea consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies

• Published in: Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases, 2023-04, Vol.33 (4), p.715-723
• Main Authors: Wang, Ze-Mu, Zhao, Di, Wang, Hao, Wang, Qi-Ming, Zhou, Bo, Wang, Lian-Sheng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: CHD; Coronary Disease - diagnosis; Coronary Disease - epidemiology; Coronary Disease - prevention & control; Dose–response; Green tea; Humans; Meta-analysis; Plant Extracts; Prospective Studies; Risk; Risk Factors; Tea - adverse effects
• ISSN: 0939-4753; 1590-3729
• DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2023.01.017

Conflicting evidence exists regarding the association between green tea consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). We performed a meta-analysis to determine whether an association exists between them in cohort studies. We searched the PubMed and EMBASE databases for studies conducted until September 2022. Prospective cohort studies that provided relative risk (RR) estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association were included. Study-specific risk estimates were combined using a random-effects model. A total of seven studies, with 9211 CHD cases among 772,922 participants, were included. We observed a nonlinear association between green tea consumption and the risk of CHD (P for nonlinearity = 0.0009). Compared with nonconsumers, the RRs (95% CI) of CHD across levels of green tea consumption were 0.89 (0.83, 0.96) for 1 cup/day (1 cup = 300 ml), 0.84 (0.77, 0.93) for 2 cups/day, 0.85 (0.77, 0.92) for 3 cups/day, 0.88 (0.81, 0.96) for 4 cups/day, and 0.92 (0.82, 1.04) for 5 cups/day. This updated meta-analysis of studies from East Asia suggests that green tea consumption may be associated with a reduced risk of CHD, especially among those with low-to-moderate consumption. Additional cohorts are still needed before we could draw a definitive conclusion. PROSPERO CRD42022357687. •Green tea consumption might play an effective role in the prevention of CHD.•Our results revealed a nonlinear association between green tea drinking and CHD risk.•Light-to-moderate consumption was significantly associated with decreased CHD risk.•No significant association was observed among heavy green tea drinkers.