Research: DE KONING and COLLEAGUES,

Listed in Issue 201

Abstract

DE KONING and COLLEAGUES, Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA examined the associations of sugar- and artificially sweetened beverages with incident type 2 diabetes.

Background

Sugar-sweetened beverages are risk factors for type 2 diabetes; however, the role of artificially sweetened beverages is unclear.

Methodology

An analysis of healthy men (n = 40,389) from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, a prospective cohort study, was performed. Cumulatively averaged intakes of sugar-sweetened (sodas, fruit punches, lemonades, fruit drinks) and artificially sweetened (diet sodas, diet drinks) beverages from food-frequency questionnaires were tested for associations with type 2 diabetes by using Cox regression.

Results

There were 2680 cases over 20 y of follow-up. After age adjustment, the hazard ratio (HR) for the comparison of the top with the bottom quartile of sugar-sweetened beverage intake was 1.25 (95% CI: 1.11, 1.39; P for trend < 0.01). After adjustment for confounders, including multivitamins, family history, high triglycerides at baseline, high blood pressure, diuretics, pre-enrollment weight change, dieting, total energy, and body mass index, the HR was 1.24 (95% CI: 1.09, 1.40; P for trend < 0.01). Intake of artificially sweetened beverages was significantly associated with type 2 diabetes in the age-adjusted analysis (HR: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.72, 2.11; P for trend < 0.01) but not in the multivariate-adjusted analysis (HR: 1.09; 95% CI: 0.98, 1.21; P for trend = 0.13). The replacement of one serving of sugar-sweetened beverage with 1 cup ≈ 237 mL of coffee was associated with a risk reduction of 17%.

Conclusion

Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is associated with a significantly elevated risk of type 2 diabetes, whereas the association between artificially sweetened beverages and type 2 diabetes was largely explained by health status, pre-enrollment weight change, dieting, and body mass index.

References

de Koning L, Malik VS, Rimm EB, Willett WC, Hu FB. Sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverage consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes in men. Source American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 93(6):1321-7. Jun 2011. Other ID Source: NLM. PMC3095502 [Available on 06/01/12]

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