Avid use of sweetened beverages increases cardiovascular disease risk, study finds

NEW YORK, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Drinking sweetened beverages can increase cardiovascular disease risk, but occasionally savoring sugary refreshments doesn't have the same effect, a new study has found.

Conducted in Sweden, the research was published Monday in Frontiers in Public Health.

Researchers found that taking in too much added sugar raises the chance of cardiac events, including ischemic stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation and abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Conversely, consuming a few sweet drinks was linked to a decreased risk of cardiovascular diseases, the study notes.

"Understanding these associations can help individuals make more informed dietary choices to reduce their risk of developing cardiovascular disease," the study's corresponding author, Suzanne Janzi, told UPI.

"The findings underscore the importance of considering the source of added sugar, as not all sources seem to have the same health implications," said Janzi, who holds a master's degree in nutrition science and is a doctoral student at Lund University in Malmö, Sweden.

Most public health organizations advise limiting sugar consumption to safeguard teeth and improve overall diet, but there's little documentation about the role that sugar plays in the development of cardiovascular diseases, the researchers noted.

Modifying dietary habits is a simple approach to lowering risk, they said.

However, "it's important to note that this study cannot establish causality, and other factors besides added sugar consumption may have influenced the results," Janzi said.

"For instance, there are no biological mechanisms that can explain why consuming treats would decrease cardiovascular disease risk," she added. "We believe the explanation might lie in the context of treats consumption rather than the treats themselves."

Researchers suspect that liquid sugars present in sweetened beverages generally make a person feel less full, which could result in overconsumption. In addition, the context in which sugar is consumed also makes a difference. People tend to enjoy treats in social settings or on special occasions, while they might drink sweetened beverages more regularly.

To conduct this study, the researchers gathered data from two major studies -- the Swedish Mammography Cohort and the Cohort of Swedish Men. Both studies involved diet questionnaires administered in 1997 and 2009, which enabled the investigators to track participants' food and drink selections over time.

After excluding some data to ensure the two studies shared the same inclusion criteria -- and to eliminate independent risk factors for cardiovascular diseases -- the researchers ended up with a sample of 69,705 participants.

They examined three classes of sugar consumption -- toppings, such as honey, treats like a pastry or sweetened beverages comparable to fizzy drinks -- and seven cardiovascular diseases. The conditions included two different types of stroke, as well as heart attack, heart failure, aortic aneurysms, atrial fibrillation and aortic stenosis.

The researchers monitored participants until death, a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease or the end of follow-up in 2019. During this time, 25,739 participants received a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.

These findings are based on a Swedish population and may not apply directly to other cultural groups, the researchers cautioned.

Other experts commended the researchers for examining the effects of added sugar on cardiovascular disease risk.

"This study contributes to our already robust evidence base suggesting that higher intakes of added sugar negatively impact cardiovascular health," said Matthew Landry, a registered dietitian and assistant professor of population health and disease prevention at the University of California-Irvine. He was not involved in the study.

"Some of the clearest associations with increased cardiovascular disease risk are from sugar-sweetened beverages," Landry said, cautioning that other variables may have influenced the results.

Based on this study, consuming more than eight servings of these beverages was associated with a 19% increase in ischemic stroke risk, said Dr. W. Taylor Kimberly, chief of neurocritical care at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

"Making long-term and lasting changes to our diet can be hard, but this study makes the case that focusing on a reduction in the amount of sugar-sweetened beverages can have a big impact," Kimberly said.

Extreme sugar restriction may not be necessary, said Theresa Gentile, a registered dietitian and national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

"This encourages a more balanced approach to sugar -- focusing on reducing sugary drinks, while allowing moderate indulgence," said Gentile, coordinator of home enteral nutrition at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

"By understanding these differences, people can make healthier choices to reduce their risk of heart disease, improving overall health and well-being," she said.

The World Health Organization reports that cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide, claiming an estimated 17.9 million lives annually.