Coffee, tea 'safe beverages'
2008-05-27 13:10
New York - Results from a decades-long
study may enable women to drink coffee or tea without worry
that doing so will increase their risk for breast cancer, study
findings suggest.
"In this large cohort of women, with 22 years of follow-up,
we observed no association between coffee (caffeinated or
decaffeinated) and tea consumption and the risk of breast
cancer," Dr Davaasambuu Ganmaa told Reuters Health.
"Coffee and tea are remarkably safe beverages when used in
moderation," said Ganmaa, of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts.
Ganmaa and colleagues assessed coffee, tea, and caffeine
consumption among 85 987 women who participated in the Nurses' Health Study. The women were between 30 and 55 years old at the start of the study.
Over 22 years of follow up, 5 272 women developed breast
cancer.
After accounting for other factors potentially associated
with breast cancer risk, such as age, smoking status, body
mass, physical activity, alcohol intake, family history,
menopausal status, history of hormone therapy, and number of
children, the researchers found no elevated risk of breast
cancer among women who reported drinking four or more cups of
caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee or tea per day, compared
with those who drank less than one cup daily.
They also found no apparent association between the
occurrence of breast cancer and intakes of other caffeinated
soft drinks and chocolate, which contribute to overall caffeine
intake.
When the researchers further assessed breast cancer risk
specifically among postmenopausal women, they found a modestly
reduced risk associated with the highest versus the lowest
caffeine intake. But, "this relation needs to be examined
further", the investigators note.
- Reuters