Sugar-sweetened beverages increase risk for dyslipidemia
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Source: Alonso Nichols/
Tufts University
The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages contributes to adverse changes in HDL and triglyceride concentrations, which also increases the risk for dyslipidemia, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
“The analysis of the data in this cohort allows us to examine whether different types of beverages may contribute to changes in blood lipids,” Nicola McKeown, PhD, nutritional epidemiologist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, told Healio. “Combined with previous studies, our new study strengthens the evidence that frequent consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages may alter blood lipid levels in a negative way.”
Framingham Heart Study data
Danielle E. Haslam, PhD, a doctoral student at Tufts University Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at the time of the study and now a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and colleagues analyzed fasting plasma lipoprotein concentrations among other data from 3,146 participants from the Framingham Offspring Study (mean age, 55 years) and 3,584 participants from Generation Three (mean age, 40 years). Food frequency questionnaires were completed to collect information on beverage intake.
“We felt this study was important to conduct because while there have been observational studies that have shown higher sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is associated with greater risk of CVD, few epidemiological studies have examined the impact of beverage consumption on lipid measures,” McKeown said in an interview.
Participants who regularly consumed sugar-sweetened beverages — more than one serving per day — had a greater mean decrease in HDL (beta = –1.6 mg/dL; P for trend < .0001) and an increase in triglyceride concentrations (beta = 4.4 mg/dL; P for trend = .003) compared with those with low sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, or less than one serving per month. Those who were long-term regular consumers of sugar-sweetened beverages had a higher incidence of high triglycerides compared with those with low levels of consumption (HR = 1.52; 95% CI, 1.03-2.25).
Participants who recently became regular consumers of low-calorie sweetened beverages had a 27% higher incidence of higher LDL (HR = 1.27; 95% CI, 1.05-1.53; P for trend = .01) and a 40% higher incidence of high non-HDL (HR = 1.4; 95% CI, 1.17-1.69; P for trend = .0002). Despite this, the cumulative average intakes of these types of beverages were not linked to changes in LDL, non-HDL or incident dyslipidemias.
‘Focus on beverage patterns’
“Managing patients’ blood lipids is a major focus for clinicians, and this research highlights the need to focus on beverage patterns in addition to diet,” McKeown told Healio. “In the clinical setting, it is important to establish whether a patient consumes sugar-sweetened beverages frequently, and if they do, then advising them to eliminate sugar-sweetened beverages is an important strategy to help them prevent their blood lipids trending in the wrong direction and ultimately helping prevent them from progressing to dyslipidemia. While it’s not conclusive, our research suggests that higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with worsening changes in lipids and risk of developing dyslipidemia.” – by Darlene Dobkowski
For more information:
Nicola McKeown, PhD, can be reached at nicola.mckeown@tufts.edu; Twitter: @nicolamkiely1.
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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