A prospective study of tea drinking temperature and risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

• Published in: International journal of cancer Vol. 146; no. 1; pp. 18 - 25
• Main Authors: Islami, Farhad, Poustchi, Hossein, Pourshams, Akram, Khoshnia, Masoud, Gharavi, Abdolsamad, Kamangar, Farin, Dawsey, Sanford M., Abnet, Christian C., Brennan, Paul, Sheikh, Mahdi, Sotoudeh, Masoud, Nikmanesh, Arash, Merat, Shahin, Etemadi, Arash, Nasseri Moghaddam, Siavosh, Pharoah, Paul D., Ponder, Bruce A., Day, Nicholas E., Jemal, Ahmedin, Boffetta, Paolo, Malekzadeh, Reza
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-01-2020; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Brittleness; Cancer; Drinking; Esophageal cancer; Esophageal Neoplasms - epidemiology; Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma - epidemiology; Esophagus; Health risks; hot beverages; Hot Temperature; Humans; Iran; Medical research; Middle Aged; Population studies; Prospective Studies; risk factor; Risk Factors; Squamous cell carcinoma; Tea; Temperature; Iran; esophageal cancer; Iran; risk factor; hot beverages
• ISSN: 0020-7136; 1097-0215
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.32220

Previous studies have reported an association between hot tea drinking and risk of esophageal cancer, but no study has examined this association using prospectively and objectively measured tea drinking temperature. We examined the association of tea drinking temperature, measured both objectively and subjectively at study baseline, with future risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in a prospective study. We measured tea drinking temperature using validated methods and collected data on several other tea drinking habits and potential confounders of interest at baseline in the Golestan Cohort Study, a population‐based prospective study of 50,045 individuals aged 40–75 years, established in 2004–2008 in northeastern Iran. Study participants were followed‐up for a median duration of 10.1 years (505,865 person‐years). During 2004–2017, 317 new cases of ESCC were identified. The objectively measured tea temperature (HR 1.41, 95% CI 1.10–1.81; for ≥60°C vs. <60°C), reported preference for very hot tea drinking (HR 2.41, 95% CI 1.27–4.56; for “very hot” vs. “cold/lukewarm”), and reported shorter time from pouring tea to drinking (HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.01–2.26; for <2 vs. ≥6 min) were all associated with ESCC risk. In analysis of the combined effects of measured temperature and amount, compared to those who drank less than 700 ml of tea/day at <60°C, drinking 700 mL/day or more at a higher‐temperature (≥60°C) was consistently associated with an about 90% increase in ESCC risk. Our results substantially strengthen the existing evidence supporting an association between hot beverage drinking and ESCC.
What's new?
Previous studies have indicated that hot tea may increase the risk of esophageal cancer. In this large, prospective study, the authors found that drinking hot tea is indeed associated with an increased risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Furthermore, a preference for “very hot” tea more than doubled this risk. It may thus be a reasonable public‐health measure to extrapolate these results to all types of beverages, and to advise the public to wait for beverages to cool to <60°C before consumption.