The Relationship between Habitual Coffee and Tea Consumption and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus among Libyan Adults

Abstract

ABSTRACT Libya has the highest prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in North Africa. This disease is highly affected by patients Lifestyle such as habitual consumption of certain meals and beverages. Black and green tea and coffee are traditional beverages that are daily consumed by many Libyans. In this study we asked the question of is there any association between coffee or tea consumption and predisposing factors of developing type 2 diabetes such as fasting blood glucose, blood pressure, and obesity as calculated by Body Mass Index (BMI)?. In the literature, there are inconsistent results regarding this association. Our study included 396 Libyan diabetic patients (292 females and 104 males) with mean age of 49±17 years from Tripoli center of diabetes. This study performed during a period of seven months from Apr 2013 to Oct 2013. We also included control patients who were coffee or tea non consumer type2 diabetics. The results of this prospective study showed that coffee, green tea, and black tea consumption may help in reduce fasting blood glucose of type 2 male and female diabetics. In addition, green tea consumption strongly reduces blood cholesterol, blood pressure and BMI while black tea has weaker effect. In contrast, coffee consumption increases blood cholesterol, BMI and blood pressure in both male and female diabetics