Diet drinks linked to a higher risk of stroke after the menopause
Fresh research offers further information on the potential for diet drinks — that is, beverages sweetened with artificial sugar substitutes — to harm cardiovascular health.
A study that followed tens of thousands of postmenopausal women for more than 10 years has linked a higher consumption of diet drinks to an increased risk of stroke, heart disease, and death.
The link between diet drinks and stroke was strongest for strokes that arise from blocked arteries, and from smaller blood vessels in particular.
The journal Stroke has now published a paper about the analysis. The lead author is Dr. Yasmin Mossavar-Rahmani, an associate professor of clinical epidemiology and population health in the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY.
Dr. Mossavar-Rahmani and her team point out that the findings do not prove that diet drinks harm the heart and circulation system. That is because the study was an observational one, and the figures on diet drink consumption came from self-reports.
However, Rachel K. Johnson — who chaired the panel that wrote the science advisory from the American Heart Association (AHA) about diet drinks and heart health — comments, "This study adds to the evidence that limiting use of diet beverages is the most prudent thing to do for your health."
Experts commenting in an editorial that accompanies the new study paper also suggest that until there is sufficient evidence regarding who might benefit from consuming diet drinks, the emphasis should be on drinking water as the most healthful no-calorie drink.
Diet drinks and cardiovascular risks
The data for this study came from a racially diverse group of 81,714 postmenopausal women in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study.
The women were all aged 50–79 years when they enrolled during 1993–1998. The study then tracked their health with regular evaluations for an average of 11.9 years afterward.
At the 3-year evaluation point, the women answered some questions regarding how often they had consumed diet drinks in the previous 3 months.
The researchers defined diet drinks as any low-calorie colas, soda, and fruit drinks sweetened with artificial sugar substitutes.
They did not ask the women to specify the which artificial sweeteners the drinks contained.
When they analyzed the data, they adjusted the results to eliminate the effect of other factors that influence stroke risk, such as age, smoking, and high blood pressure.
