High tea consumption is inversely associated with disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis, particularly beneficial in female patients, non-smokers, and elders.
The study included 733 rheumatoid arthritis patients and took place from June to December 2016. Disease activity was assessed using a common clinical scoring system and the type and amount of tea consumption was recorded through self-administered questionnaires on-site. The correlation between tea consumption and disease activity was then analyzed using logistic regression models while controlling for factors like demographics, clinical factors, and laboratory factors.
In the results, it was found that tea consumption seemed to have an inverse relationship with disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis patients. This effect was significanly more dominant in high-intake tea consumers compared to low-intake or non-tea drinkers. A notable dose-response association was found, so the more tea consumed, the less disease activity was observed. When further analysis was applied, the inverse associations were mainly present in women, non-smokers and those aged 60 and above.
