People WHO drank more green tea had a modestly lower risk of dying over an 11-year period. A large prospective cohort study in Nutrients, the first of its kind in Vietnam, examined whether habitual green tea intake tracks with all-cause mortality, and found a small but consistent protective association.
Why researchers asked the question. Green tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world and a rich source of polyphenols, plant compounds with antioxidant properties. At the same time, there has been some concern that heavy tea drinking means high caffeine intake, which could offset benefits. The researchers set out to weigh these against each other by looking directly at the hardest outcome: risk of death from any cause.
What the study did. The team drew on the Hanoi Prospective Cohort Study, following 42,146 participants aged 10 or older in Northern Vietnam between 2007 and 2019. Green tea intake was captured with a validated food frequency questionnaire, and the researchers used statistical models that adjusted for potential confounding factors to estimate the association between intake and mortality.
What they found. Over a median follow-up of 11 years, 2,494 participants died. Higher green tea intake was inversely associated with all-cause mortality: each one standard-deviation increase in consumption was linked to a 7% lower risk of death (hazard ratio 0.93, 95% CI 0.89 to 0.97), with a statistically significant dose-response trend. In plain terms, more green tea tracked with a modestly lower risk of dying during the study.
The pattern differed by sex. The inverse association was clear and statistically significant in men (hazard ratio 0.93, 0.89 to 0.97) but did not reach significance in women (0.94, 0.86 to 1.02). The researchers noted the difference between the sexes was not statistically robust, so it is best read cautiously rather than as proof that green tea helps only men.
It held across many subgroups. The protective pattern appeared broadly consistent across a range of groups, including both younger and older participants, those with a lower body mass index, both smokers and non-smokers, people who did not drink coffee, and individuals with and without a history of type 2 diabetes. That consistency strengthens the plausibility of a real association rather than a quirk of one subgroup.
How to read this. This is observational research, so it can show a strong and consistent link but cannot prove that green tea itself causes the lower risk of death. Tea drinkers may share other habits that influence longevity, and intake was self-reported. The absolute effect per serving is also modest. The authors themselves call for further studies to confirm the findings in similar populations.
Practical takeaway. For most people, unsweetened green tea is a low-risk, low-calorie beverage that fits comfortably into a healthy pattern, and this study adds to a broader body of evidence linking it to favorable health outcomes. It is best seen as one small, pleasant piece of an overall healthy lifestyle rather than a stand-alone remedy.
Bottom line. In a large Vietnamese cohort, higher green tea consumption was associated with a modestly lower risk of death over 11 years, most clearly in men, and consistently across many subgroups, reinforcing green tea's place as a sensible everyday drink while stopping short of proving cause and effect.