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. 2009 Feb;20(1):57-65.
doi: 10.1007/s10552-008-9217-7. Epub 2008 Aug 28.

A population-based, case-control study of green tea consumption and leukemia risk in southwestern Taiwan

Yau-Chang Kuo  1 , Chu-Ling Yu, Chen-Yu Liu, Su-Fen Wang, Pi-Chen Pan, Ming-Tsang Wu, Chi-Kung Ho, Yu-Shing Lo, Yi Li, David C Christiani; Kaohsiung Leukemia Research Group
Collaborators, Affiliations

A population-based, case-control study of green tea consumption and leukemia risk in southwestern Taiwan

Yau-Chang Kuo et al. Cancer Causes Control. 2009 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the association between green tea consumption and leukemia.

Methods: A total of 252 cases (90.3% response) and 637 controls (53.4% response) were enrolled. Controls were matched for cases on age and gender. Information was collected on participants' living habits, including tea consumption. Green tea was used as a standard to estimate the total amount of individual catechin consumption. We stratified individual consumption of catechins into four levels. Conditional logistic regression models were fit to subjects aged 0-15 and 16-29 years to evaluate separate associations between leukemia and catechin consumption.

Results: A significant inverse association between green tea consumption and leukemia risk was found in individuals aged 16-29 years, whereas no significant association was found in the younger age groups. For the older group with higher amounts of tea consumption (>550 units of catechins), the adjusted odds ratio (OR) compared with the group without tea consumption was 0.47 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.23-0.97]. After we adjusted for smoking status and medical irradiation exposure, the overall OR for all participants was 0.49 (95% CI = 0.27-0.91), indicating an inverse relation between large amounts of catechins and leukemia.

Conclusion: Drinking sufficient amounts of tea, especially green tea, which contains more catechins than oolong tea and black tea, may reduce the risk of leukemia.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Different percentages of leukemia cases and controls with habit of drinking tea(s) for every group of age. Age stratifications: 1 = age between 0 and 5 years; 2 = age between 6 and 10 years; 3 = age between 11 and 15 years; 4 = age between 16 and 20 years; 5 = age between 21 and 25 years; 6 = age between 26 and 29 years
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Mean amount of catechins (expressed in units) consumption in leukemia cases and controls for every group of age. Age stratifications: 1 = age between 0 and 5 years; 2 = age between 6 and 10 years; 3 = age between 11 and 15 years; 4 = age between 16 and 20 years; 5 = age between 21 and 25 years; 6 = age between 26 and 29 years
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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