This observational study published in the journal Nature Communications suggests that women must begin drinking tea prior to menopause for significant differences to occur based on utilizing data from 1,377 postmenopausal women under the age of 80 enrolled in the Lanxi Cohort Study.
Participants were categorized into tea consumption based on frequency, concentration, and type with further analysis on whether they began drinking tea before or after menopause. Results were then applied to evaluate any associations between drinking tea before or after menopause and the bone mineral density results of the participants.
Women who began drinking tea before menopause were found to have significantly higher total and regional bone mineral density than non-tea drinkers as well as those who began drinking tea after the onset of menopause after adjusting for confounding variables.
The most beneficial effect was observed in those who drank tea 4 or more times per week, but no benefit was observed in those who began drinking tea after the onset of menopause.
The study authors concluded that their results indicate that drinking tea before menopause is related to higher bone mineral density in postmenopausal women, and the relationship is independent of the type of tea and concentration.
