Abstract
Comparative analyses of soft drink intakes in samples from the United States and Europe, and assessed intakes in relation to prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its individual components are currently lacking. We used data collected on cardiovascular health and dietary intakes in participants from two cross-sectional studies: the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study (MSLS), conducted in Central New York, USA in 2001–2006 (n = 803), and the Observation of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Luxembourg Study (ORISCAV-LUX), conducted in 2007–2009 (n = 1323). Odds ratios for MetS were estimated according to type and quantity of soft drink consumption, adjusting for demographic, lifestyle and dietary factors, in both studies. In both studies, individuals who consumed at least one soft drink per day had a higher prevalence of MetS, than non-consumers. This was most evident for consumers of diet soft drinks, consistent across both studies. Diet soft drink intakes were also positively associated with waist circumference and fasting plasma glucose in both studies. Despite quite different consumption patterns of diet versus regular soft drinks in the two studies, findings from both support the notion that diet soft drinks are associated with a higher prevalence of MetS.
Highlights
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterised by a clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors within an individual, namely abdominal obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidemia [1]
In our past examination of the health and lifestyle habits in these two studies, we found that the ORISCAV-LUX participants had healthier diets and lower levels of obesity, hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) than those in MaineSyracuse Longitudinal Study (MSLS) [23]
We hypothesised that associations may be stronger in MSLS than in ORISCAV-LUX, the odds of having metabolic syndrome (MetS) associated with total soft drink intakes were similar in both
Summary
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterised by a clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors within an individual, namely abdominal obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidemia [1]. Having MetS increases the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), coronary heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes mellitus [2,3]. Modifiable lifestyle factors, such as diet, are a primary contributor to both the development and subsequent course of MetS [4]. Consumption of soft drinks is increasing amongst men, women and children in the US and in Europe [7,8,9,10] This may include both sugar-sweetened ‘regular’, and artificially sweetened ‘diet’ soft drinks. While replacing sugar-sweetened soft drinks with diet, sugar-free, or artificially-sweetened beverages may be used to reduce sugar intake, recent research has demonstrated associations between diet soft drink consumption and adverse cardiometabolic outcomes [16,17,18,19]
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