Cutting back on coffee and tea may not significantly affect women's reliance on incontinence products, a study has found.
Scientists at Sweden's Karolinska Institute studied more than 14,000 twins and found that those who drank tea did not have a significantly increased risk of urinary incontinence.

In fact, when age was taken into account, those who regularly drank coffee actually had a slightly reduced risk of incontinence. Lead author Giorgio Tettamanti, whose findings are published in the journal BJOG, told Reuters Health that the results of previous studies on urinary incontinence and caffeine have been inconsistent.
He claimed: "What we found is not really surprising, but it goes against current knowledge."

Nancy Nairi Maserejian, an epidemiologist who was not involved in the Swedish study, told Reuters Health that women who use incontinence products should not view the latest research as a reason to drink more coffee.

She explained: "I don't think we can make a blanket statement from this study. Moderation is key and women have to talk to their physicians and decide what works for them." At present, NHS experts advise people with urinary incontinence to cut back on caffeine and drink between six and eight glasses of fluids per day.