Does Green Tea Increase the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes?

Green tea causes type 2 diabetes?

Consumption of green tea is usually associated with various beneficial health effects, and previous studies have also shown a preventive effect on type 2 diabetes. However, a recent international study now found that drinking green tea in Chinese adults was associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.

Researchers at China's Fudan University and Vanderbilt University in the US found in their study that consuming green tea appears to be associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The physicians published the results of their study in the English language journal "International Journal of Epidemiology".

More and more people around the world seem to be suffering from type 2 diabetes. Does the consumption of green tea influence the increase in the disease? (Image: PhotographyByMK / fotolia.com)

Where did the data come from??

A total of 119,373 subjects participated in the Shanghai Women's Health Study (SWHS) and the Shanghai Men's Health Study (SMHS). Data from these studies were used to examine various biomarkers and lifestyle risk factors for cancer and other chronic diseases. At the beginning of the study, none of the participants suffered from diabetes. The study covered details of tea consumption, including ingested species and amounts of tea.

Female and male participants in the study were at increased risk for type 2 diabetes when they drank more green tea, study authors report. The physicians found that this relationship between green tea intake and the risk of type 2 diabetes was not affected by factors such as obesity or smoking. Researchers called for further studies on the mechanisms underlying the identified association. They also suggested that pesticide residues in tea leaves might play a role.

Various studies yielded contradictory results

In recent years, green tea has increasingly been valued as a particularly healthy beverage. Green tea is consumed by many people around the world and its popularity has increased dramatically over time. However, researchers have found inconsistent results on the relationship between green tea drinking and the risk of type 2 diabetes in their research. For example, last year's study concluded that green tea prevents the onset of type 2 diabetes. A Japanese study published in 2006 in the journal "Annals of Internal Medicine" also showed that consumers of green tea who drank at least six cups a day had a 33 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes as people who drank only a cup or less per week. Another 2007 study, published in the journal BioFactors, concluded that people with diabetes should drink less green tea because animal studies have shown that high intake of green tea contributes to blood sugar levels Rats with diabetes can increase. (As)