Oolong Tea Consumption and the Risk of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Propensity Score-Based Analysis in Southeast China

Qingrong Deng; Yuying Wu; Xiaoying Hu; Huiqing Wu; Mengzhu Guo; Yimin Lin; Menglin Yu; Wenwen Huang; Yuxuan Wu; Lisong Lin; Yu Qiu; Jing Wang; Baochang He; Fa Chen

doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.928840

Oolong Tea Consumption and the Risk of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Propensity Score-Based Analysis in Southeast China

Front Nutr. 2022 Jul 7:9:928840. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.928840. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Qingrong Deng^{1

2}, Yuying Wu^{1

2}, Xiaoying Hu^{1

2}, Huiqing Wu^{1

2}, Mengzhu Guo^{1

2}, Yimin Lin^{1

2}, Menglin Yu^{1

2}, Wenwen Huang^{1

2}, Yuxuan Wu^{1

2}, Lisong Lin³, Yu Qiu³, Jing Wang⁴, Baochang He^{1

2

3}, Fa Chen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
² Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
³ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
⁴ Laboratory Center, The Major Subject of Environment and Health of Fujian Key Universities, School of Public Health, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.

Abstract

Oolong tea is one of the world's most popular non-alcoholic beverages, particularly in coastal Southeast China. Hitherto, epidemiological studies on the association between oolong tea consumption and the risk of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) are very limited. This study aimed to evaluate the potential effect of oolong tea consumption on OSCC risk in Southeast China. From January 2010 to October 2020, face-to-face interviews were conducted for 744 newly diagnosed OSCC patients and 1,029 healthy controls to collect information on demographics, oolong tea consumption behaviors, and other lifestyle factors. Propensity score matching (PSM), inverse probability of treatment weight (IPTW), and stabilized inverse probability of treatment weight (SIPTW) were utilized to minimize confounding effects. Multivariate, conditional, and weighted logistic regression was used to evaluate the associations of oolong tea consumption behaviors with OSCC risk. Participants who drank oolong tea showed a lower risk of OSCC when compared to their non-drink counterparts [PSM population, OR (95%CI): 0.69 (0.49-0.97); SIPTW population, OR (95%CI): 0.74 (0.58-0.94)]. Moreover, the reduced risk was found to be significantly associated with certain tea-drinking habits (consumed amount over 500 mL per day, a duration of <20 years, age at initiation older than 30 years, and warm and moderately concentrated tea). Similar results were yielded in the sensitivity analyses (Multivariate adjustment and the IPTW analysis). Furthermore, subgroup analysis revealed that the negative association of oolong tea drinking with OSCC risk was more evident among those with poor oral hygiene. This study provides supportive evidence that oolong tea consumption may have a potentially beneficial effect in preventing OSCC, especially for those with poor oral hygiene.

Keywords: OSCC; oolong tea consumption; oral hygiene; propensity score analyses; risk assessment.