Drinking soda and other sweetened beverages could increase the risk of heart failure, particularly in men. A new study from Swedish researchers found that drinking two or more servings of soda or other sweetened beverages increases the risk of heart failure by 23 percent, Reuters reported.
The study followed 42,400 men ages 45 to 79 from 1998 to 2010. They were given questionnaires to record their average daily and weekly consumption of sweetened drinks. One serving of a beverage was equal to 200 milliliters. Fruit juices, coffee and tea were excluded in the study.
Over the course of the study, there were 3,604 participants diagnosed with heart failure. Of these, 509 died because of the condition.
"People who regularly consume sweetened beverages should consider reducing their consumption to lower their risk of heart failure as well as obesity and type 2 diabetes and possibly other diseases," lead study author Susanna Larsson from the Karolinkska Institute in Stockholm said, according to Health Day.
Although the study focused on men, women are not totally off the hook.
"Sweetened beverage consumption has been associated with blood pressure, insulin concentration, weight gain, obesity and type 2 diabetes also in women," Larsson told Reuters.
However, the study had a few shortcomings, as pointed out by professors Miguel Martínez-González and Miguel Ruiz-Canela of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Navarra in an accompanying editorial.
They wrote that some factors were not considered, such as the complexity of developing heart failure, and that the condition could be linked with a poor diet in general instead of just one component. They also said that people tend to drink less sweetened drinks as they age.
Furthermore, the study was not able to establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship between sugary drinks and heart failure. The questionnaire used in the study also did not distinguish between beverages sweetened with sugar and those with artificial sweeteners.
Still, they concluded in the editorial that "the well known association of sweetened beverages with obesity and type 2 diabetes, which are risk factors for heart failure, reinforces the biological plausibility of [the study authors'] findings."
"Based on their results, the best message for a preventive strategy would be to recommend an occasional consumption of sweetened beverages or to avoid them altogether," they concluded.
The study was published in the online Nov. 2 issue of the journal Heart.
