Tea consumption may reduce risk of fracture

Drinking a few cups of tea a day could reduce the chance of fracturing a hip bone, says a new study published in Osteoporosis International.

For some time experts have investigated if drinking tea and coffee is associated with the risk of hip fracture – but results of previous research have been inconsistent. So a team from Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine looked at 14 studies involving 195,992 people and 9,958 cases of hip fractures.

Coffee did not seem to increase or decrease the rate of fracture. But a link was seen between tea consumption and the risk of hip fracture: 28% less risk for people drinking one or two cups a day, 38% less risk for two to three cups a day and 21% less risk for three or four cups a day.

More work is needed to explain the association – and future research should look at if drinking five or more cups of tea a day affects the risk of hip fractures positively or negatively.