Effect of tea on blood pressure for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Context: Tea has been proposed as an antihypertensive agent for individuals with elevated blood pressure, yet the evidence for this has not been systematically reviewed to date.

Objective: The aim of this review was to evaluate the effects of tea on blood pressure in individuals within the prehypertensive and hypertensive blood pressure ranges.

Data sources: The CENTRAL, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched for all relevant studies published from 1946 to September 27, 2013.

Study selection: The selection criteria included randomized controlled trials of adults whose blood pressure was within hypertensive or prehypertensive ranges and in which the applied intervention was green or black tea; controls consisting of placebo, minimal tea intervention, or no intervention; and a follow-up period of at least 2 months.

Data extraction: Two reviewers independently extracted data on participants, interventions, comparators, outcomes, and study design. Mean differences (MDs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were pooled to generate summary effect estimates.

Results: Meta-analyses of 10 trials (834 participants) showed statistically significant reductions in systolic blood pressure (MD -2.36 mmHg, 95%CI -4.20 to -0.52) and diastolic blood pressure (MD -1.77 mmHg, 95%CI -3.03 to -0.52) with tea consumption.

Conclusions: Consumption of green or black tea can reduce blood pressure in individuals within prehypertensive and hypertensive ranges, although further investigation with studies of longer duration and stronger methodological quality is warranted to confirm these findings.