Hot Tea Poses Risk For Our Throats

By Margarita Nahapetyan

Individuals who prefer their tea very hot, are at a higher risk of developing esophageal (throat) cancer, say the results of a new investigation by Iranian researchers.

In collaboration with investigators from the United States, England, France and Sweden, a research team from the Digestive Disease Research Center at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, traveled to Golestan province, a place in northern Iran where residents tend to consume mostly very hot tea and water, and which has unusually high rates of esophageal cancer.

The scientists analyzed the tea, alcohol, and smoking habits of 871 people, 300 of whom were the patients with throat cancer and 571 people with no cancer, and found that those who said they drank hot tea at 65-69 degrees Celsius, or 149-156 degrees Fahrenheit, were at a double risk of developing throat cancer, compared to individuals who drank the beverage warm or lukewarm.

When the experts compared drinking the beverage 4 or more minutes after being poured, with consuming tea less than 2 minutes after pouring, they found that there was a fivefold higher risk of getting esophageal cancer. And people who drank very hot tea with a temperature of 70 degrees Celsius (158 F) and above, increased their chances of getting throat cancer by nearly 8 times.

Hot tea is not the only beverage that has been linked to throat cancer. Cancer of the esophagus has always been mostly associated with using tobacco and alcohol abuse. As it was mentioned before, Golestan province has one of the highest rates of OSCC in the world, but smoking rates and alcohol consumption are very low there, and women in the area are as likely to have the same diagnosis as men. Tea drinking, however, is very popular and widespread, so the experts came to the conclusion that the association between the beverage and the risk of cancer is most probably due to the drinking habits.

Unlike booze and smoking, the evidence in this new study shows that it is not the chemicals in the tea that matters, says the study's lead investigator Reza Malekzadeh, professor and director of the Digestive Disease Research Center. Hot beverages, in his opinion, are considered as risk factor, possibly because they cause damage of throat tissue.

Malekzadeh says that their team had discovered many risk factors and the hot tea appears one of them. He added that poor social economic status, poor diet, lack of fruit and vegetables and not brushing teeth are some of the factors that could also contribute to the development of the disease. But temperature in which the tea is being consumed still remains the main risk factor, point out the scientist.

The research showed no association between the amount of tea consumed and the risk of cancer. Te findings of some previous studies have pointed to possible benefits deriving from the consumption of the beverage. Green tea was suggested as a treatment for diabetes more than 70 years ago. Other studies have shown that there are possible benefits of green tea in cancer treatment and prevention of heart-related conditions.

The findings of the study appear in the British Medical Journal.