Tea not proven to 'shield you against dementia'

Conclusion This analysis of data from a prospective cohort study of Chinese older adults looked at a potential link between tea consumption and development of dementia. It found that tea drinkers who took part in the study were less likely to develop dementia compared to non-drinkers. The links were observed specifically in women tea drinkers, and in drinkers who carry the APOE ε4 gene that has been linked with Alzheimer's development. This was a well-designed cohort study which controlled for numerous potential confounders in its analysis. However, there are a number of things to bear in mind, many of which have been pointed out by the authors: Not all of the links with tea consumption were significant. When analysed by intake, only those drinking three or four cups a day had apparent protection, with no link for greater or lesser amounts. However, as they say, this could be down to the small number of people who developed dementia during the study. Breaking down this number according to tea intake leaves only small samples for analysis. Large scale studies would need to be conducted to confirm these findings. While significant links were found specifically for women and for carriers of the high-risk variant of the APOE gene, we shouldn't draw strong conclusions at this stage. We don't know the reason for this link – it could be influenced by other health and lifestyle factors that haven't been taken into account. This study was conducted in people of Chinese e...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology Food/diet Source Type: news