2 soft drinks per day associated with increased risk of death from all causes, study finds

A study published Tuesday found a positive association between soft drink consumption and increased risk of death from all causes.

The study, “Association Between Soft Drink Consumption and Mortality in 10 European Countries,” was published on JAMA Internal Medicine. It followed 451,743 individuals from these 10 countries in Europe: Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Participants who reported previous cancer, heart disease, stroke, or diabetes were excluded.

The study found that greater consumption of total, sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened soft drinks was associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality. 

“Consumption of artificially sweetened soft drinks was positively associated with deaths from circulatory diseases, and sugar-sweetened soft drinks were associated with deaths from digestive diseases,” the study said. 

Higher all-cause mortality was found for participants who consumed two or more glasses per day of total soft drinks, sugar-sweetened soft drinks and artificially sweetened soft drinks, according to the study. 

The association between soft drinks consumption and cause-specific mortality was also studied. 

Higher circulatory diseases mortality risk was found for participants consuming two or more glasses per day of total soft drinks and artificially sweetened soft drinks, but not sugar-sweetened soft drinks, according to the study. 

Higher level of consumption of total soft drinks and sugar-sweetened soft drinks, but not artificially sweetened soft drinks, was associated with digestive disease mortality, the study found.

Total soft drink consumption was positively associated with risk of Parkinson’s disease mortality, with similar magnitude non-significant associations found for artificially sweetened and sugar-sweetened soft drinks, according to the study. Soft drinks were not associated with Alzheimer’s disease mortality, the study found. 

Sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened soft drink consumption was also positively associated with circulatory disease and digestive disease mortality among participants with a healthy weight, according to the study. 

Essentially, only artificially sweetened, and not sugar-sweetened, soft drinks were associated with deaths from circulatory diseases, whereas for digestive disease deaths, only sugar-sweetened soft drinks were associated with higher risk, the study said. 

The positive association between soft drink consumption and mortality was evident for both men and women, according to the study.

Results of the study appear to support ongoing public health measures to reduce the consumption of soft drinks, the study said.