heavy tea drinkers are less risky

Good for the heart, anti-cancer weapon, “elixir of long life” … Many are the benefits attributed to tea, which remains the second most consumed drink in the world after water. A recent study published in the journal BMC Geriatrics and carried out in collaboration with the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Fudan University of Shanghai (China) highlights a new potential therapeutic virtue of this drink: preventing depression in the elderly.

Previous research by the National University of Singapore (NUS) had shown that the main components of tea – theine, caffeine and the amino acid theanine – could have positive effects on mood, cognitive ability, cardiovascular health , cancer prevention and mortality.

This new study, although more detailed than that of the NUS, supports this previous work. While a causal link could not be specifically identified by the researchers who publish their work, these funds nevertheless observed a strong relationship between heavy tea drinkers and the decrease in depressive signs in the elderly.

More benefits between 65 and 79 years old

Their work involved 13,000 participants aged 60 and over, from the Chinese Longitudinal Health Longevity Survey between 2005 and 2014. The researchers assessed the mode and level of tea consumption of volunteers before and during the research. They then divided the 13,000 subjects into four categories separate “tea drinkers”.

The results show that only “heavy drinkers”, that is to say those who have drunk tea almost every day since the age of 60, “could benefit significantly for their mental health”, believe the scientists. Other factors also appeared to reduce depression, such as high socioeconomic status, living in an urban environment, having a life partner or being in good health.

Analyzes also show that the benefits of drinking tea are greater in men aged 65 to 79: “It is likely that the benefit of drinking tea is more evident in the early stages of health deterioration . More studies are surely necessary to deepen this question, “said Professor Feng Qiushi, researcher at the National University of Singapore and co-author of the study.

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