Study shows tea consumption can lower mortality in chronic kidney disease

Tea consumption offers protective effects on mortality among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study published online Jan. 13 in Renal Failure.

Jin Li, Ph.D., from the Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine in China, and colleagues examined the long-term impact of tea consumption among 17,575 patients with CKD from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 1999 to 2018.

The researchers found there were 5,835 deaths during follow-up, including 1,823 cardiovascular-related deaths.

Compared with never drinking tea, consuming up to four cups of tea per day was significantly associated with lower all-cause mortality among patients with CKD stage 1 to 2 (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.80 to 0.99; P = 0.04), after adjustment for confounding variables; the association between tea consumption and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality was not significant (hazard ratio, 0.87; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.72 to 1.05; P = 0.15).

There was a dose-response effect observed, with the risks for all-cause mortality mitigated by consuming up to three to five cups of tea per day, especially in early CKD stages. In CKD stage 1 to 2, an intake of one cup per day higher of oxidized tea was associated with a 10 percent lower risk for all-cause mortality (hazard ratio, 0.90; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.82 to 0.99; P = 0.03).

Replacing one cup of green tea with one cup of oxidized tea was associated with a significantly lower risk for all-cause and CVD mortality (hazard ratios [95 percent confidence intervals], 0.92 [0.86 to 0.98; P = 0.01] and 0.89 [0.80 to 1.00; P < 0.05], respectively) in those with CKD stage 1 to 2.

“We suggest that CKD patients limit their daily intake of tea to no more than four cups, and choose appropriate varieties and flavors, such as oxidized tea and sugar-free tea,” the authors write.

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