Drinks containing sugar or sweeteners are popular, but their consumption is associated with an increased risk of irregular heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation) in adults, which can increase the risk of stroke by five times.
A new study involving experts from Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine in China examined the effects of consuming sugar-sweetened drinks, artificially sweetened drinks and pure fruit juice on the risk of atrial fibrillation. The results are published in the journal “Circulation Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology”.
Data from over 200,000 people
The team evaluated dietary questionnaires and genetic data from a total of 201,856 people who did not have atrial fibrillation at the start of the study.
According to the team, 9,362 cases of atrial fibrillation occurred during a follow-up period of almost ten years. This increases the risk of a stroke by five times.
Sugar and sweeteners a risk?
It was found that participants who consumed more than two liters of sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened drinks per week had a significantly increased risk of atrial fibrillation compared to people who did not consume such drinks, the experts report.
Participants who consumed more than two liters of such drinks per week and who also had a high genetic risk had the highest risk of atrial fibrillation, the team continued.
Consuming no more than one liter of unsweetened juice such as orange or vegetable juice per week was associated with a lower risk of atrial fibrillation.
Previous studies have shown that consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is linked to type 2 diabetes and obesity. The new results now also indicate a connection between sugary or artificially sweetened drinks and atrial fibrillation, the researchers explain.
However, “the results do not allow us to conclude conclusively that one drink poses a greater health risk than another, as our diet is very complex and some people may drink more than one type of drink,” said study author Dr. Ningjian Wang in a press release from the American Heart Association (AHA).
According to the experts, the mechanisms that mediate the connection between the consumption of sweetened drinks and the risk of atrial fibrillation remain unclear. Insulin resistance and the body’s reaction to various sweeteners could be possible explanations here.
Water the healthiest alternative
Although some questions still remain unanswered, Dr. Wang, to generally reduce the consumption of artificially sweetened and sugar-sweetened drinks or, if possible, to give them up completely. Water is the healthiest alternative here.
You should always be aware that low-sugar, low-calorie, artificially sweetened drinks are by no means healthy and can even pose various potential health risks, warns the expert.
New prevention strategies
“The new findings about the connections between the risk of atrial fibrillation and sugar and artificially sweetened drinks as well as pure juice could also lead to the development of new prevention strategies,” hopes Dr. Wang.
However, in order to clearly confirm the results and decipher the underlying mechanisms, further investigations are required. (as)
