Coffee, tea consumption associated with reduced risk of diabetes

NEW YORK Drinking more coffee (regular or decaffeinated) or tea appears to lower the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to an analysis of previous studies reported in the Dec. 14/28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Rachel Huxley, D.Phil, of The George Institute for International Health, University of Sydney, Australia, and colleagues identified 18 studies involving 457,922 participants and assessing the association between coffee consumption and diabetes risk published between 1966 and 2009.

Six studies involving 225,516 individuals also included information about decaffeinated coffee, whereas seven studies with 286,701 participants reported on tea consumption.

When the authors combined and analyzed the data, they found that each additional cup of coffee consumed in a day was associated with a 7% reduction in the excess risk of diabetes, while individuals who drank three to four cups per day had an approximately 25% lower risk than those who drank between zero and two cups per day.

In addition, in the studies that assessed decaffeinated coffee consumption, those who drank more than three to four cups per day had about a one-third lower risk of diabetes than those who drank none. Those who drank more than three to four cups of tea had a one-fifth lower risk than those who drank no tea.

Recent reports projected the number of people in the United States with diabetes will nearly double over the next 25 years, and costs for related treatments will triple.