An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) can be a catastrophic disease. An AAA rupture has an extremely high mortality rate. Several risk factors are associated with this entity, namely smoking, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia. These risk factors are associated with oxidative stress and inflammation which are responsible for the AAA etiology. Interestingly, tea has antioxidative properties and is associated with a lower risk of oxidative stress-related diseases, cardiovascular diseases included. According to some data, each cup of black and green teas is associated with a decrease in the risk of cardiovascular events.
Can tea consumption reduce the risk of AAA? This unlikely and surprising question was studied in a Swedish and American paper, based on a Swedish patient’s database. Joanna Kaluza et al evaluated the association of estimated tea consumption with AAA, rupture status, smoking status, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia. Food questionnaires were used to define baseline tea consumption and estimated long-time tea consumption. The association was analyzed in 1496 men with AAA, and 285 women with AAA. The total population studied included almost 100000 patients from Swedish databases. The results are very interesting.
Globally, tea consumption (black tea showed a higher association) was inversely associated with the risk of AAA. Additionally, patients consuming >2 cups of tea/day were more likely to have a university education, less likely to be smokers, less likely to have hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, and more likely to have a lower BMI. In my point of view, this data probably brings up the diet characteristics of the low-education population due to a lack of money to buy healthier food. Increasing workers’ income and educating about healthier food from the first years in school can help change these data.
As more tea was consumed, the less risk for non-ruptured AAA. More significant was the inverse association between increasing tea consumption and ruptured AAA (one cup/day increment – 16% lower risk). If you are a smoker and are thinking – “I am going to drink a lot of tea so that I can keep smoking” – you are going to be disappointed. The association between tea consumption and a lower incidence of AAA was not observed in smokers. On the other hand, although the most significant association was observed in never smokers, it was also observed in ex-smokers. So, the best solution for you who smoke is to stop smoking and drink tea instead.
The inverse association between tea consumption and AAA risk was noted in hypertensive patients and non-hypertensive patients. However, it was more significant in patients with hypertension. This is probably because tea has a known effect on reducing blood pressure. This effect is due to flavonoids present in tea and their effect on smooth muscle relaxation and endothelium function.
In conclusion, drinking tea is associated with a lower risk of AAA in ex-smokers and never smokers. Patients with hypertension and hypercholesterolemia also have a decreased risk of AAA with tea consumption. This association is more pronounced in ruptured aneurysms. Finally, I would like to highlight one point presented by Joanna Kaluza et al. Drinking > 2 cups of tea a day may indicate a globally healthier behavior by those people, which includes non-mentioned factors that may sinergically work to improve health. It it just because of the tea? Probably not.
Link to PubMed:
Dr. Carlos Eduardo Costa Almeida
General Surgeon
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