Even diet sodas are linked to an increased risk of premature death

Consume too much soft drinks – even dietary drinks – may increase your risk of premature death, suggests a new study.

The study, which includes data on nearly half a million people in Europe, is the largest of its kind, the authors said. People who consume at least two glasses of soda a day – whether they are regular or dietary – are at risk of 17% more of dying during this nearly two-decade study, compared to people who consume less alcohol. 39, a glass of soda a month.

Even after the researchers took into account factors that may affect the risk of premature death and illness, such as smoking, alcohol abuse, body mass index (BMI), physical activity , the consumption of calories and the consumption of fruits, vegetables and processed meats.

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Nevertheless, the study revealed only one association and can not prove that soda consumption actually causes premature death.

But the results, published on September 3 in the newspaper JAMA Internal Medicine, support "ongoing public health campaigns aimed at reducing the consumption of soft drinks," according to the study's authors, who belong to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a member of the World Organization of health.

The study adds to a growing body of research linking sodium intake to an increased risk of chronic disease and premature death. In March, a different group of researchers published a study in the journal Circulation that revealed a link between the consumption of sugary drinks and an increased risk of premature death among the men and women of the United States. This study also found that the consumption of large amounts of dietary drinks was linked to an increased risk of premature death among women.

In this new study, researchers analyzed information from approximately 450,000 people in 10 European countries who had no cancer, heart disease, stroke or stroke. Diabetes at the beginning of the study. Participants reported how often they ate diets or non-alcoholic beverages. They were followed for an average of 16 years and during this period, approximately 41,700 participants died.

Among those who reported consuming at least two soft drinks a day, 11% died during the study period, compared to 9% of those who reported consuming less than one soft drink per month .

Interestingly, people who frequently consumed diet sodas were more likely to die from cardiovascular illnesses, like heart disease; while people who frequently consumed sugary sodas were more likely to die digestive diseasessuch as diverticulitis or liver disease, compared to those who rarely consume soft drinks.

It is unclear why diet sodas, in particular, were linked to an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease. This finding may actually be due to "reverse causality" – in other words, people already at risk of heart disease at the beginning of the study started drinking sodas of diet before completing the survey of researchers. The researchers, however, tried to take this disadvantage into account by excluding deaths that occurred at the beginning of the study follow-up period and again found a link between food soda consumption and death from cardiovascular disease.

There may be a biological explanation; for example, studies in animals suggest that frequent consumption of artificial sweeteners can lead to problems with the way the body handles the real sugar. But much more research is needed to determine if this is true in people or where there are other adverse effects of long-term use of artificial sweeteners, said the authors.

It is also not known why regular consumption of soda was linked to an increased risk of death from digestive diseases. It is possible that high blood sugar Levels can alter the intestinal mucosa and increase the risk of intestinal infections, which increases the risk of certain digestive diseases, said the authors. But again, more research is needed to study this question.

The authors also note that the study assessed the consumption of soft drinks only at one point and that researchers could not therefore take into account changes in soft drink consumption during the course of the study. the follow-up period.

Originally published on Science live.