P1‐408: Consumption of Coffee or Tea, Vascular Risk Factors and The Risk of Dementia in The Elderly

Coffee and tea consumption has shown to generate neuroprotective effects. Tea consumption is more prevalent in Chinese elders than those in the western countries. Because of different drinking habit across countries and different compounds in coffee and tea, previous western studies may be unable to apply to Chinese elderly. In addition, it is unclear that how vascular risk factors [e.g., diabetes mellitus (DM), hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension] modify the association between tea or coffee consumption and the risk of dementia. This was a case-control study. A total of 284 late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD) and 139 vascular dementia (VaD) patients were recruited from the neurology clinics from three teaching hospitals in Taiwan (2007-2010). Controls (n=395) were recruited from health checkup program and volunteers of the hospitals during the same period of time. All participants aged 60 or above. A questionnaire was administered to collect the information on coffee and tea consumption, vascular risk factors, and other covariates. Blood sample was collected from each participant to determine the apolipropein E e4 status. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to evaluate the association of coffee and tea consumption with dementia risk adjusting for potential confounders, and how vascular risk factors modified this association. The elders with 1 to 5 cups of tea per month showed a lower risk of LOAD than non-drinkers [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=0.23]. Protective effect on AD was also observed when elders drink both tea and coffee (AOR=0.34). The protective effect become more evident for VaD (1-5 cups of tea/month: AOR=0.11; 1-5 cups of coffee and coffee/month: AOR=0.23). After stratification by vascular risk factors, tea consumption protected against LOAD risk in elders with DM (AOR=0.07; Pinteraction=0.02). No significant association was observed after stratified by the history of hypercholesterolemia or hypertension. This study found that coffee and tea consumption protected against the risk of dementia. DM history significantly modified the association between tea consumption and LOAD, which revealed possible beneficial effect of tea consumption on both DM and LOAD. More studies are needed to clarify the underlying mechanism.