Tea consumption and cardiovascular risk in the su.vi.max study: are life-style factors important?

The relationship of tea consumption with classical cardiovascular risk factors was evaluated. Cardiovascular risk factors were measured in 2926 participants of the SU.VI.MAX study (an ongoing intervention trial on the effects of antioxidant supplementation on chronic diseases), who completed six 24-hour dietary records in the year before. Analyses of variance were used in a cross-sectional design. In women, waist-hip ratio, total cholesterol, serum-triglycerides and fasting glucose decreased with increasing tea consumption, whereas, BMI, blood pressure and serum-triglycerides were related with tea consumption in men (p for trend between 0.002 and 0.05). Fruit and vegetable consumption increased, and consumption of meat, and coffee decreased with increasing tea consumption (p for trend ranged from 0.0001 to 0.04). Total fat intake was positively related to tea consumption (p for trend = 0.0005 in men and 0.0001 in women). Tea consumption may be important in evaluating determinants of cardiovascular risk, but lifestyle factors should be taken into account. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.