Sugar‐Sweetened Soft Drink Consumption Acutely Modifies Cardiovascular Control in Healthy Adults

Abstract

Long-term consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks is associated with an increased prevalence of cardiometabolic diseases. Previous reports demonstrate that consuming a bolus of fructose-sweetened water acutely increases blood pressure variability (BPV) and decreases spontaneous cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity (cBRS) and heart rate variability (HRV). If caffeinated soft drinks containing high levels of fructose elicit similar responses is unknown. Objective Test the hypothesis that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) sweetened soft drink consumption increases BPV and decreases cBRS and HRV compared to water and artificially-sweetened (Diet) and sucrose-sweetened (Sucrose) soft drinks. Methods Twelve subjects (2 females; age 24 ± 4 y; body mass index: 24.1 ± 3.1 kg/m2) completed four randomized, double-blinded trials in which they drank 500 mL of water or commercially available soft drinks matched for taste and caffeine content (~77 mg). Subjects were not naïve to caffeine and consumed 346 ± 481 mL of soft drinks per week. We continuously measured beat-to-beat blood pressure (finger photoplethysmography) and R-R interval (ECG) before and 30 minutes after drink consumption during supine rest for 5 minutes during spontaneous and paced breathing (frequency of 15 breathes/minute). BPV was evaluated using standard deviation, average real variability, and successive variation methods for systolic and diastolic blood pressure. cBRS was assessed using the sequence method for up and down sequences. Overall cBRS was calculated as the average of up and down sequences. HRV was evaluated using the root mean square of successive differences in R-R interval (RMSSD) and the high frequency power component following power spectral density analysis (HF). Due to variation at baseline, data were analyzed as the magnitude of change (∆) from pre-drink consumption using a mixed-effects model with post hoc Sidak's test comparisons. Data are reported as mean ± SD. Results There were no differences between conditions for indices of BPV in standard deviation, average real variability, and successive variation during spontaneous and paced breathing (P≥0.07). Overall cBRS during spontaneous breathing was reduced in the HFCS (-3 ± 5 ms/mmHg) and Sucrose (-3 ± 5 ms/mmHg) trials compared to Water (+1 ± 5 ms/mmHg, P<0.03). Sucrose also elicited greater reductions in overall cBRS during spontaneous breathing compared to Diet (+1 ± 4 ms/mmHg, P=0.01) and HFCS was reduced during down sequences compared to Diet (-3 ± 5 vs. +2 ± 3 ms/mmHg, P=0.057). HFCS evoked greater reductions in RMSSD during paced breathing compared to Water (-26 ± 34 vs. +2 ± 26 ms, P<0.01), but not Diet (-11 ± 26 ms, P=0.43) nor Sucrose (-12 ± 11 ms, P=0.51). There were no differences in HF during paced breathing between HFCS and the other trials (Water: -408 ± 1178; Diet: -62 ± 1270; Sucrose: -871 ± 1549; HFCS: -155 ± 1505 ms2, P≥0.13). Conclusion These findings suggest that in healthy young adults, sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption acutely reduces cBRS and HRV but does not alter BPV.