Bad news for people who cannot live without a few cups of tea and coffee a day: According to a study in the U.S., drinking two or more cups of coffee or tea a day may increase the risk of lung cancer.
The researchers monitored a total of 1.2 million participants in the U.S. and Asia as a part of 17 international studies. The studies noted whether participants drank coffee or tea or smoked cigarettes. About half were nonsmokers. The participants were tracked for an average of 8.6 years. During that time, more than 20,500 participants developed lung cancer.
Led by scientist Jingjing Zhu of Vanderbilt University, the researchers found that nonsmokers who drank two or more cups of coffee a day had a 41 percent higher risk of lung cancer than those who didn't drink coffee. Similarly, nonsmokers who drank two or more cups of tea a day had a 37 percent greater risk of lung cancer than non-tea drinkers.
And there is another bad news for coffee lovers: Even if you decide to switch your morning brew with decaf, the effects look similar. The article published on the Live Science website also highlighted that age and race had no effect on the results.
The results of the study were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.
