Table 3.

Geometric mean (95% confidence interval) levels of urinary total tea polyphenols and their metabolites by the COMT genotype^*

	COMT genotype			p†
Urinary tea polyphenol metabolites	HH (n = 343)	HL (n = 268)	LL (n = 49)
EGC (μmol/g Cr)	7.3 (5.8 – 9.2)	7.3 (5.7 – 9.3)	4.5 (2.6 – 7.3)	0.047
4′-MeEGC (μmol/g Cr)	25.2 (20.1 – 31.6)	21.8 (17.2 – 27.6)	15.0 (9.2 – 23.8)	0.049
EC (μmol/g Cr)	2.3 (1.8 – 2.8)	2.2 (1.8 – 2.8)	1.5 (0.8 – 2.3)	0.057
M4 (μmol/g Cr)	4.0 (3.1 – 5.1)	4.0 (3.0 – 5.1)	2.2 (1.2 – 3.9)	0.037
M6 (μmol/g Cr)	33.7 (25.3 – 44.7)	36.8 (27.4 – 49.3)	21.7 (11.9 – 38.7)	0.099
Total tea polyphenols (μmol/g Cr)	105.0 (85.3 – 129.0)	102.6 (82.8 – 127.2)	58.7 (38.4 – 89.6)	0.007

^*Geometric means were derived from analysis of covariance with the following covariates: age (year), cigarette smoking (nonsmokers, < 20 cigarettes/day, and ≥20 cigarettes/day), alcohol drinking (nondrinkers, <2 drinks/day, 2- <4 drinks/day, and ≥4 drinks/day), and amount of tea leaves consumed (< 5, 5 - < 10, and ≥ 10 g/day).

^†P-values were derived from multivariate regression models that compared the LL genotype with the HL and HH genotypes combined with the adjustment for all variables listed above.

Abbreviations: EGC: (-)-epigallocatechin, 4′-MeEGC: methylepigallocatechin (4′-MeEGC), EC: epicatechin, M4: 5-(3′,4′,5′- trihydroxyphenyl)-γ-valerolactone, M6: 5-(3′,4′-dihydroxyphenyl)-γ-valerolactone