Malik VS, et al. - Among 37,716 men from the Health Professional’s Follow-up Study (HPFS; 1986-2014) and 80,647 women from the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS; 1980-2014), researchers assessed the risk of total and cause-specific mortality in relation to consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs). Overall, intake of SSBs was positively related to death, primarily through cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, and demonstrated a graded link with dose. Among women, investigators found that high intake levels of ASBs were positively associated with total and CVD mortality.

Methods

• The participants were free from chronic diseases at baseline.
• They estimated hazard ratios and 95% CIs using Cox proportional hazards regression.

Results

• They performed 3,415,564 person-years of follow-up, during which time 36,436 deaths (7,896 CVD and 12,380 cancer-related deaths) were reported.
• Findings revealed the association of SSBs intake with a higher risk of total mortality following the adjustment for major diet and lifestyle factors.
• The association was evident for CVD mortality and cancer mortality.
• Only in the highest intake category, was an association of ASBs with total and CVD mortality identified.
• A link between ASBs and mortality was evident in NHS but not in HPFS in cohort-specific analysis.
• There was no association of ASBs with cancer mortality in either cohort.