Impact of tea drinking upon tuberculosis: a neglected issue

BACKGROUND Tuberculosis (TB) is a global public health issue posing serious harm to the human health. Many studies have suggested that smoking and excessive alcohol consumption are risk factors for TB. Laboratory evidence suggests that EGCG in tea leaves can arrest the growth of tubercle bacillus. Can drinking tea lead to decreased susceptibility of TB in humans? METHODS A total of 574 TB patients and 582 healthy controls were recruited to participate in this case-control study. Self-designed questionnaire was used to collect data. Unconditioned logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the associations between tea drinking and TB. RESULTS Tea drinking has a negative association with TB, with OR = 0.583(0.423, 0.804) and P < 0.05. Drinking black tea, oolong and green tea are all negative association with TB, with OR being 0.683(0.517, 0.902), 0.674(0.508, 0.894) and 0.534(0.349, 0.817) respectively and P < 0.05. Trend χ (2) test indicated a decreasing risk for TB with increased tea consumption, with P < 0.05. CONCLUSION There is a significance negative association between tea drinking and TB. Promoting the consumption of tea as the daily drink among populations, particularly those with high TB risk, may reduce the incidence of TB in the populations.