Green Tea Consumption Not Associated with Cancer Mortality

Green Tea and Cancer

According to an article recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, consumption of green tea does not appear to have an effect on cancer mortality. However, greater consumption of green tea did reduce the risk of overall death and death due to cardiovascular illness.

Due to the prevalence of cancer and its associated mortality, researchers continue to evaluate ways that environmental and lifestyle factors may reduce the incidence and death associated with this disease. One large area of such research involves diet. Results from previous studies have suggested that consumption of green tea may have protective effects against certain types of cancer. Studies continue to evaluate its potential effectiveness.

Researchers from Japan recently evaluated data on patients from the Ohsaki National Health Insurance Cohort Study, including 40,530 adults between the ages of 40 to 79 years. The participants had not been diagnosed with cancer, stroke, or coronary heart disease when the study began. They were followed for over 11 years.

Consumption of green tea had no effect on cancer mortality among these patients, although greater consumption of green tea reduced the risk of death overall and of cardiovascular disease.

The researchers concluded that these results indicate that consumption of green tea does not appear to have an effect on mortality due to cancer. Results from additional data may help to clarify the association between green tea consumption and cancer.