Tea

Suggested

2 studies · 1 recommendation

Last updated: January 30, 2026

Suggested2 studies

Tea consumption may reduce gout risk related to kidney function impairment

Two Mendelian randomization studies using UK Biobank genetic data found consistent protective associations between tea intake and gout risk. The first study identified a significant reduction in gout due to renal impairment (OR 0.997, 95% CI 0.994-0.999, p=0.017), though no effect on general or idiopathic gout. The second study showed stronger protective effects across multiple gout datasets, with odds ratios ranging from 0.48 to 0.99 depending on the population studied. Both analyses employed rigorous sensitivity testing including MR-Egger intercept, Cochran's Q statistics, and MR-PRESSO, with no significant heterogeneity or horizontal pleiotropy detected. While these genetic analyses support a causal relationship between tea consumption and reduced gout risk, the mechanism appears specifically linked to renal function pathways rather than direct uric acid reduction.

Evidence

Effect of tea intake on genetic predisposition to gout and uric acid: a Mendelian randomization study

Authors: Gang Hu, Keke Tong, Rong Yu, Xinyu Yang, Yuman Yin, Yunfeng Yu

Published: February 1, 2024

Mendelian randomization analysis using 40 independent SNPs associated with tea intake from UK Biobank examined causal relationships with gout outcomes. Tea intake showed a statistically significant negative association with gout due to impairment of renal function (OR 0.997, 95% CI 0.994 to 0.999, P = 0.017). No causal association was found with general gout, idiopathic gout, or uric acid levels (P > 0.05). SNP data were derived from UK Biobank (gout), BioBank Japan (uric acid), and FinnGen (gout subtypes). Sensitivity analyses including MR-Egger intercept for horizontal pleiotropy, Cochran's Q test for heterogeneity, and leave-one-out analysis confirmed the robustness of these findings.

View Source →

Causal association between tea intake and risk for gout: a Mendelian randomization study

Authors: Jingjing Cai, Xiao Liang, Yuchao Fan

Published: July 1, 2023

Bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis using GWAS summary statistics from UK Biobank tea intake data (ukb-b-6066) and three gout datasets demonstrated consistent protective associations. Forward MR analysis showed genetically predicted tea intake reduced gout risk across all three datasets: OR 0.9966 (95% CI: 0.9938-0.9993, p=0.0167) for ukb-b-12765; OR 0.4842 (95% CI: 0.2683-0.8737, p=0.0160) for finn-b-M13_GOUT; OR 0.4554 (95% CI: 0.2155-0.9623, p=0.0393) for finn-b-GOUT_STRICT. Five MR methods were employed with no significant heterogeneity detected via Cochran's Q statistic and no pleiotropy identified via MR Egger intercept and MR-PRESSO tests. Weak instrumental variables were excluded using F-value thresholds.

View Source →