Preventive effects of drinking green tea on cancer and cardiovascular disease: Epidemiological evidence for multiple targeting prevention

Abstract

The significance of drinking green tea in prevention of two of the main lifestyle‐related diseases, cancer and cardiovascular disease, was demonstrated in terms of a prospective cohort study on a total of 8,552 general residents in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. On the basis of the follow‐up study, we revealed decreased relative risk of cancer incidence for those consuming over 10 cups a day, compared with those consuming below 3 cups: 0.54 (95% men, 0.57 (0.34–0.98) for women, and 0.59 (0.35–0.98) for both sexes. Furthermore, a significant delay in cancer onset was associated with increased consumption of green tea. Next, decreased relative risk of death from cardiovascular disease was 0.58 (0.34–0.99) for men, 0.82 (0.49–1.38) for women, and 0.72 (0.60–1.04) for members of both sexes consuming over 10 cups a day. Finally, we evaluated the life‐prolonging effects of drinking green tea on cumulative survival, using the life table.