Data mining approach ID'd link between black tea and diabetes, but not other health indicators
FRIDAY, Nov. 9 (HealthDay News) -- High black tea consumption is correlated with low diabetes prevalence worldwide, according to research published online Nov. 8 in BMJ Open.
Ariel Beresniak, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., from Data Mining International in Geneva, and colleagues utilized a systematic data-mining approach to analyze data from 50 countries participating in the World Health Survey. Six variables including black tea consumption, prevalence of respiratory diseases, infectious diseases, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, were assessed.
The researchers found that black tea consumption was negatively correlated with diabetes, using principal component analysis, a correlation circle, and linear correlation. Black tea consumption was not correlated with any of the other four health indicators.
"This innovative study establishes a linear statistical correlation between high black tea consumption and low diabetes prevalence in the world," the authors write. "Further epidemiological research and randomized studies are necessary to investigate the causality."
One author is employed by Unilever.
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