Green tea consumption is associated with annual changes in hippocampal volumes: A longitudinal study in community-dwelling middle-aged and older Japanese individuals

Shu Zhang; Rei Otsuka; Yukiko Nishita; Akinori Nakamura; Takashi Kato; Kaori Iwata; Chikako Tange; Makiko Tomida; Fujiko Ando; Hiroshi Shimokata; Hidenori Arai

doi:10.1016/j.archger.2021.104454

Green tea consumption is associated with annual changes in hippocampal volumes: A longitudinal study in community-dwelling middle-aged and older Japanese individuals

Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2021 Sep-Oct:96:104454. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2021.104454. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology of Aging, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan.
² Department of Epidemiology of Aging, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan. Electronic address: otsuka@ncgg.go.jp.
³ Department of Biomarker Research, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan; Department of Clinical and Experimental Neuroimaging, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan.
⁴ Department of Clinical and Experimental Neuroimaging, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan.
⁵ Department of Epidemiology of Aging, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan; Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Aichi Shukutoku University, Aichi, Japan.
⁶ Department of Epidemiology of Aging, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan; Graduate School of Nutritional Sciences, Nagoya University of Arts and Sciences, Aichi, Japan.
⁷ National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Aichi, Japan.

PMID: 34119808
DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2021.104454

Abstract

Background: To investigate the association between green tea consumption and the annual rate of change of gray matter (GM), white matter (WM), and hippocampal volumes in community-dwelling middle-aged and older Japanese individuals.

Methods: A prospective cohort study with two years of follow-up was conducted as part of the National Institute for Longevity Sciences-Longitudinal Study of Aging (NILS-LSA) project. A total of 1693 participants (862 men and 831 women, aged 40-89 years) were included. Green tea consumption (mL/day) data were collected with a 3-day dietary record. Volumes of GM, WM, and the hippocampus were estimated by T1-weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging and FreeSurfer software. The GM ratio, WM ratio, and hippocampal ratio (HR) were calculated as the percentages of total intracranial volume, respectively.

Results: The mean (SD) annual rate of change of hippocampal volume [(HR at baseline - HR at follow-up)/HR at baseline/follow-up years×100%] was 0.499 (1.128) (%). In the multivariable-adjusted general linear model, green tea consumption was negatively associated only with the annual rate of change of hippocampal volume (%) [β (95% CI) for each 1 mL/day increase in green tea consumption = -20.2E-5 (-35.0E-5 to -5.3E-5); P-value = 0.008]. No associations were observed for the annual rate of change of GM or WM volumes. The results remained significant when the analysis was limited to those with stable green tea consumption and were especially evident among individuals aged 65 years and older and among women.

Conclusions: In this study, higher green tea consumption was associated with less annual hippocampal atrophy, and each additional 100 mL/day of green tea intake was related to a reduction of approximately 5% in annual hippocampal atrophy. This association was especially evident among older individuals and among women. Further study in different settings is needed to confirm this association.

Keywords: Atrophy; Cohort; Gray matter; Green tea; Hippocampus; White matter.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Female
Hippocampus / diagnostic imaging
Humans
Independent Living*
Japan
Longitudinal Studies
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Middle Aged
Prospective Studies
Tea*

Substances

Tea