Drinks that contain added sugar have been associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation.

-

 

Drinks that contain added sugar have been associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation.

    


New research published today in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association, shows that adults who reported drinking two liters (about 67 ounces) or more of sugar- or artificially sweetened drinks per week had a higher risk of an irregular heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation compared with adults who drank fewer such beverages.

The study also found that drinking one liter (about 34 ounces) or less per week of pure, unsweetened juice, such as orange or vegetable juice, was associated with a lower risk of atrial fibrillation (AFib). However, the study could not confirm whether the sweetened drinks caused AFib, yet the association remained after accounting for a person's genetic susceptibility to the condition.

Consuming sweetened drinks has been linked to Type 2 diabetes and obesity in previous research. This large study of health data in the UKU.K.iobank is among the first to assess a possible link between sugar- or artificially-sweetened beverages and AFib. Atrial fibrillation is a condition in which the heart beats irregularly, increasing the risk of stroke by five-fold. More than 12 million people are expected to have AFib by 2030, according to the American Heart Association's 2024 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics.

"Our study's findings cannot definitively conclude that one beverage poses more health risk than another due to the complexity of our diets and because some people may drink more than one type of beverage," said lead study author Ningjian Wang, M.M.D.Ph.D., a researcher at the Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in Shanghai, China. "However, based on these findings, we recommend that people reduce or even avoid artificially sweetened and sugar-sweetened beverages whenever possible. Do not take it for granted that drinking low-sugar and low-calorie artificially sweetened beverages is healthy, it may pose potential health risks."

Researchers reviewed data from dietary questionnaires and genetic data for more than 200,000 adults free of AFib when they enrolled in the UKU.K.iobank between 2006 and 2010. During the nearly 10-year follow-up period, there were 9,362 cases of AFib among the study participants.

The analysis found:

  • Compared to people who did not consume any sweetened drinks, there was a 20% increased risk of atrial fibrillation among people who said they drank more than 2 liters per week (about 67 ounces or more, or roughly one 12-ounce drink 6 days a week) of artificially sweetened beverages; and a 10% increased risk among participants who reported drinking 2 liters per week or more of sugar-sweetened beverages.
  • People who said they drank 1 liter (about 34 ounces) or less of pure fruit juice each week had an 8% lower risk of atrial fibrillation.
  • Participants who consumed more artificially sweetened beverages were more likely to be female, younger, have a higher body mass index, and have a higher prevalence of Type 2 diabetes.
  • Participants who consumed more sugar-sweetened beverages were more likely to be male, younger, have a higher body mass index, a higher prevalence of heart disease, and lower socioeconomic status.
  • Those who drank sugar-sweetened beverages and pure juice were likelier to have a higher total sugar intake than those who drank artificially sweetened drinks.
  • Smoking may have also affected risk, with smokers who drank more than two liters per week of sugar-sweetened beverages having a 31% higher trouble of AFib. In contrast, no significant increase in risk was noted for former smokers or people who never smoked.

"These novel findings on the relationships among atrial fibrillation risk and sugar- and artificially sweetened beverages and pure juice may prompt the development of new prevention strategies by considering decreasing sweetened drinks to help improve heart health," Wang said.

Researchers also evaluated whether a genetic susceptibility to AFib was a factor in the association with sweetened beverages. The analysis found the AFib risk was high with the consumption of more than 2 liters of artificially sweetened drinks per week regardless of genetic susceptibility.

"Although the mechanisms linking sweetened beverages and atrial fibrillation risk are still unclear, there are several possible explanations, including insulin resistance and the body's response to different sweeteners," Wang said. "Artificial sweeteners in food and beverages mainly include sucralose, aspartame, saccharin and acesulfame."

A 2018 science advisory from the American Heart Association noted a need for large, long-term, randomized trials on the efficacy and safety of artificial sweeteners. The writing group advised against prolonged consumption of low-calorie sweetened beverages by children; however, they noted artificially sweetened drinks may be a helpful replacement strategy to reduce sugar-sweetened liquids among adults who habitually drink many sugar-sweetened drinks.

American Heart Association nutrition committee member Penny M. Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., R.R.R.DAF.A.H.A.said that these findings on artificially sweetened beverages are surprising "given that two liters of artificially sweetened beverages a week is equivalent to about one 12-ounce diet soda a day."

Kris-Etherton, an emeritus professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State University, co-authored the association's science advisory on artificial sweeteners.

"This is the first study to report an association between no- and low-calorie sweeteners and sugar-sweetened beverages and increased risk of atrial fibrillation," she said. While there is robust evidence about the adverse effects of sugar-sweetened beverages on cardiovascular disease risk, there is less evidence about the adverse health consequences of artificial sweeteners.

"We still need more research on these beverages to confirm these findings and to fully understand all the health consequences on heart disease and other health conditions. In the meantime, water is the best choice, and, based on this study, no- and low-calorie sweetened beverages should be limited or avoided."

The American Heart Association's 2016 dietary guidelines align with the U.U.S.D.A.'s020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans in suggesting sugar-sweetened beverage consumption be minimized; they also note there is unclear evidence of the role of no- and low-calorie sweeteners on many health outcomes. The American Heart Association recommends limited sugar-sweetened beverages, such as soft drinks, fruit, sports drinks, energy drinks, sweetened teas, and coffee drinks. Healthy beverage options are water and fat-free or low-fat milk, while unsweetened fresh, frozen, or packaged fruit juice is recommended instead of fruit juice with added sugar. A half cup of pure juice (such as orange juice or grapefruit juice) is recognized as one fruit serving.

Study background and details:

  • The UKU.K.iobank is an extensive biomedical database with health records for about 500,000 adults—enrolled from 2006 until 2010—who lived in the UKU.K. and received health care through the UKU.K.'s Sensational Health Service.
  • Data was reviewed for 201,856 participants of the U.U.K.iobank, ranging in age from 37 to 73, of whom 45% were male.
  • Participants were followed for an average of nearly 10 years.
  • Blood samples were collected to measure genetic risk for AFib, and participants answered more than one 24-hour questionnaire about their diet on five repeated occasions between April 2009 and June 2012.

The limitations of this study include that the findings were observational and cannot prove causation between consumption of certain types of beverages and AFib risk. In addition, the results relied on participants recalling their own diets, so there may have been memory errors or bias. It is also unknown if the sugar- and artificially-sweetened drinks contain caffeine.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PEOPLE WITH OBESITY BURN LESS CALORIES DURING THE DAY

-
Image
  PEOPLE WITH OBESITY BURN LESS CALORIES DURING THE DAY Building on prior studies with healthy-weight participants, the new research includes different body sizes.         New research indicates that weight influences how and when bodies burn energy. An Oregon Health & Science University study published in the journal  Obesity  found people who have a healthy weight use more energy during the day, when most people are active and eat, while those who are obese spend more energy during the night when most people sleep. The study also found that during the day, those with obesity have higher levels of the hormone insulin -- a sign that the body is working harder to use glucose, an energy-packed sugar. "It was surprising to learn how dramatically the timing of when our bodies burn energy differed in those with obesity," said the study's first author, Andrew McHill, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the OHSU School of Nursing and the Oregon Institute of ...
Read more

WHAT CAUSES ITCHING, AND WHAT STOPS IT?

-
Image
  WHAT CAUSES ITCHING, AND WHAT STOPS IT?         It can be a relief to scratch the occasional itch, but when itch gets out of control, it can become a severe health problem. How does the body know when to stop? Scientists at UC San Francisco are getting close to an answer. In a breakthrough that could transform how doctors treat conditions from eczema to allergies, they have discovered a feedback loop centered on a single immune protein called IL-31 that causes the urge to itch and dials back nearby inflammation. The findings, published on October 13th in  Science Immunology , lay the groundwork for a new generation of drugs that interact more intelligently with the body's innate self-regulating ability. Previous approaches suggested that IL-31 signals itch and promotes skin inflammation. However, the UCSF team discovered that nerve cells, or neurons, that respond to IL-31, triggering a scratch, also prevent immune cells from overreacting and causing more ...
Read more

A VEGAN DIET IMPROVES CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH, ACCORDING TO A NEW STUDY

-
Image
  A VEGAN DIET IMPROVES CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH, ACCORDING TO A NEW STUDY         In a study with 22 pairs of identical twins, Stanford Medicine researchers and their colleagues have found that a vegan diet improves cardiovascular health in as little as eight weeks. Although it's well-known that eating less meat improves cardiovascular health, diet studies often need to be enhanced by genetic differences, upbringing, and lifestyle choices. By studying identical twins, however, the researchers were able to control for genetics and limit the other factors, as the twins grew up in the same households and reported similar lifestyles. "Not only did this study provide a groundbreaking way to assert that a vegan diet is healthier than the conventional omnivore diet, but the twins were also a riot to work with," said Christopher Gardner, Ph.D., the Rehnborg Farquhar Professor and a professor of medicine. "They dressed the same, they talked the same, and they had a banter ...
Read more