The aim of this study was to investigate the association between coffee and tea consumption and cardiovascular mortality. A total of 37,514 participants from the large Dutch cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-NL) were followed for 13 years. The consumption of both coffee and tea (mainly black tea) was associated with a lower incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) morbidity. Results showed a U-shaped association between coffee and CHD with the lowest hazard ratio (HR) for 2.1 to 3.0 cups per day (HR=0.79, 95% CI: 0.65-0.96, p=0.01), whereas a linear and inverse association for tea was observed. As for CHD mortality, another U-shaped association was observed with tea consumption with the lowest HR of 0.55 (95% CI: 0.31-0.97, p=0.03) for 3.0 to 6.0 cups of tea per day. Moreover, coffee consumption was associated with a slightly reduced risk for CHD mortality, but this relation was not significant. Neither coffee nor tea was associated with stroke or all-cause mortality. Thus, these results suggest a beneficial effect of high tea and moderate coffee consumption on CHD mortality.
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