Researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have found that drinking chamomile tea was associated with a decreased risk of death from all causes in Mexican-American women over 65. The findings were recently published online in The Gerontologist.

Chamomile is one of the oldest, most-widely used and well-documented medicinal plants in the world and has been recommended for a variety of healing applications. It is currently widely used as an herbal remedy in Mexico and among Mexican-Americans.

The study examined a seven-year period during which researchers tracked the effects of chamomile and the cause of death in older Mexican- Americans. The researchers analyzed data from 1,677 women and men from the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly, a population-based study of Mexican-Americans aged 65 and older from five Southwestern states, including Texas. Fourteen percent of the people in the study drank chamomile tea.

The data showed that consuming chamomile was associated with a 29 percent decreased risk of death from all causes among women compared with nonusers, even after adjusting for demographics, health conditions and health behaviors. This effect was not present in men.

"The reason for a difference in our reported findings between Hispanic women and men is not clear, although women were shown to be more frequent users of chamomile than men," said Bret Howrey, assistant professor in the UTMB department of family medicine. "This difference may be due to traditional gender roles whereby women manage the day-to-day activities of the household, including family health, and may also reflect greater reliance on folk remedies such as herbs."

It is unclear how chamomile use is associated with decreased mortality. Recent studies of chamomile have shown potential benefits in treating hyperglycemia, upset stomach, diabetic complications and anxiety disorder. Chamomile has also been touted for its cholesterol-lowering, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anti-platelet effects. The exact pathway for the reduction in mortality represents an important area for future research.

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TUESDAY, May 19, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Healthy older adults who take cholesterol-lowering drugs may be cutting their risk of stroke, a new French study suggests.

The study found that when people took medications called statins or fibrates, their risk of stroke over almost a decade went down by about one-third.

But, lead researcher Dr. Christophe Tzourio, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Bordeaux and Inserm in France, doesn't think older people should start taking these drugs solely for stroke prevention.

"Our results should not be interpreted as an indication for prescribing statins or fibrates to elderly individuals. We wouldn't recommend changing medications based on the results of only one study," he said.

"The next step is to see whether we can replicate our findings or not," he added.

The report was published May 19 in the BMJ.

Statins include drugs such as Lipitor and Zocor. Fibrates, such as Bezalip and Tricor, are prescribed to patients who can't take statins or who need additional help getting their cholesterol levels down.

Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said, "Randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that statins substantially lower the risk of heart attack and stroke, as well as overall death in men and women, with benefits that outweigh the risk."

Statins together with a healthy lifestyle are recommended in guidelines for adults at increased risk for heart attack and stroke, even when cholesterol levels are normal, he said. "Statin therapy along with maintaining a healthy blood pressure are two of the most efficacious and cost effective ways to prevent strokes," Fonarow said.

Although some experts have questioned the use of statins in adults older than 75, most studies show that statins provide benefits that outweigh the risks, regardless of a patient's age, he said.

Fonarow said that although statins have been associated with a lower risk for stroke, no such evidence has been seen for fibrates.

"Although this study also suggests there was a benefit with fibrates, most clinical trials have failed to find a meaningful benefit with fibrate therapy," he said.

For the current study, Tzourio's team collected data on nearly 7,500 French men and women, average age 74 years, with no history of heart attack or stroke when the study began.

During an average follow-up of nine years, the investigators found that those who took statins or fibrates had a one-third lower risk of stroke compared with those who didn't take them. No association, however, was found between statins and a lower risk of heart disease in this group, the researchers said.

The reduction in the risk of stroke attributed to statins did not change when the researchers took into account other factors such as age, sex, weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. However, because this was an observational study, the findings do not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

"If confirmed, these results suggest that keeping patients on cholesterol-lowering drugs could lower their stroke risk," Tzourio said. "But these findings should not be interpreted as an indication for starting these drugs in older adults," he added.

Copyright © 2015 HealthDay. All rights reserved.SOURCES: Christophe Tzourio, M.D., Ph.D., professor, epidemiology, University of Bordeaux and Inserm, France; Gregg Fonarow, M.D., professor, cardiology, University of California, Los Angeles; May 19, 2015, BMJ

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