BACKGROUND: There is limited research examining beverage habits, one of the most habitual dietary behaviors, with mortality risk.
OBJECTIVE: This study examined the association between coffee, black and green tea, sugar-sweetened beverages (soft drinks and juice), and alcohol and all-cause and cause-specific mortality.
METHODS: A prospective data analysis was conducted with the use of the Singapore Chinese Health Study, including 52,584 Chinese men and women (aged 45-74 y) free of diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer at baseline (1993-1998) and followed through 2011 with 10,029 deaths. Beverages were examined with all-cause and cause-specific (cancer, CVD, and respiratory disease) mortality risk with the use of Cox proportional hazards regression.
RESULTS: The associations between coffee, black tea, and alcohol intake and all-cause mortality were modified by smoking status. Among never-smokers there was an inverse dose-response association between higher amounts of coffee and black tea intake and all-cause, respiratory-related, and CVD mortality (black tea only). The fully adjusted HRs for all-cause mortality for coffee for <1/d, 1/d, and >/=2/d relative to no coffee intake were 0.89, 0.86, and 0.83, respectively (P-trend = 0.0003). For the same black tea categories the HRs were 0.95, 0.90, and 0.72, respectively (P-trend = 0.0005). Among ever-smokers there was no association between coffee or black tea and the outcomes. Relative to no alcohol, light to moderate intake was inversely associated with all-cause mortality (HR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.79, 0.96) in never-smokers with a similar magnitude of association in ever-smokers. There was no association between heavy alcohol intake and all-cause mortality in never-smokers and a strong positive association in ever-smokers (HR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.40, 1.74). Green tea and sugar-sweetened beverages were not associated with all-cause or cause-specific mortality.
CONCLUSIONS: Higher coffee and black tea intake was inversely associated with mortality in never-smokers, light to moderate alcohol intake was inversely associated with mortality regardless of smoking status, heavy alcohol intake was positively associated with mortality in ever-smokers, and there was no association between sugar-sweetened beverages and green tea and mortality.
To evaluate how the peripheral release of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, cholecystokinin, and beta-endorphin is involved in drinking behavior, blood concentrations of these neurotransmitters were followed in 40 healthy young volunteers during the first hour after ingestion of a moderate dose of some common alcoholic beverages (champagne, still white wine) as compared to water. Concerning serotonin levels, two groups of subjects are statistically distinct: one with low basal serotonin levels (< 620 nmol/L) which responded with an increase in serotonin (52% in 10 minutes), and a second group with higher basal serotonin levels (> 620 nmol/L) which responded with a decrease ( 190% in 60 minutes). Variations in serotonin concentrations appear to depend upon the alcoholic content of the beverage. A rapid increase in plasma dopamine concentrations after consumption of champagne seems to be due to the nonalcoholic content of the beverage. Cholecystokinin values were not significantly different between the three beverages: the observed increase can be explained by a moderate gastric distention. Beta-endorphin levels didn't change significantly after drinking. In conclusion, some significant blood variations of serotonin and dopamine appeared even after moderately dose of champagne or still white wine. These changes might be partially responsible for the different drinking behavior.