Abstract
Background/Objectives:
Epidemiological results on the association between tea consumption and oral cancer remain controversial. We aimed to evaluate the exact relationship between tea consumption and oral cancer in Chinese population.
Subjects/Methods:
A large-scale case–control study was conducted on 586 oral cancer patients and 1024 controls frequency-matched by age and gender. Epidemiological data were collected through face-to-face interviews with a structure questionnaire. Unconditional logistic regression model was used to assess the effect of tea consumption on oral cancer stratified by smoking, alcohol drinking and demographics. Quantity of tea consumed (ml/day) was categorized into five subgroups based on quartiles and then its interactions was evaluated with tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking at each subgroup.
Results:
Tea consumption showed an inverse association with oral cancer for non-smokers or non-alcohol drinkers (the odds ratios (ORs) were 0.610 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.425–0.876) and 0.686 (95% CI: 0.503–0.934), respectively). For smokers or alcohol drinkers, decreased risk was only observed in those who consumed >800 ml/day. Furthermore, oolong tea consumption was associated with decreased risk of oral cancer in smokers or alcohol drinkers but not in non-smokers or non-alcohol drinkers. Tea consumption combined with smoking or/and alcohol drinking had a greater risk than tea consumption alone, but the risk was roughly reduced from zero to Q4 (>800 ml/day). Additionally, when stratified by demographics, the protective effect of tea was especially evident in females, urban residents, normal body mass index population (18.5–23.9), farmers, office workers and those aged <60 years.
Conclusions:
Tea consumption protects against oral cancer in non-smokers or non-alcohol drinkers, but this effect may be obscured in smokers or alcohol drinkers. Additionally, demographics may modify the association between tea consumption and oral cancer.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by grants from the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province (No.2015J01304), University Development Foundation of National Financial Support (No.1003-03900130). We are deeply grateful to the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University for data collection.
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Chen, F., He, BC., Yan, LJ. et al. Tea consumption and its interactions with tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking on oral cancer in southeast China. Eur J Clin Nutr 71, 481–485 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2016.208
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2016.208
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