Association of sugar-sweetened beverage and artificially sweetened beverage intakes with mortality: an analysis of US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

purposeCurrent evidence on the associations between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intakes and mortality is inconsistent, whereas the evidence on artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) was sparse. We aimed to investigate the associations of SSB and ASB intakes with mortality in a nationally representative sample of US adults.

methodsParticipants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 1999-2014; n = 31,402) were linked to the US mortality registry by the end of 2015. SSB and ASB intakes were collected using 24-h dietary recalls. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to assess the associations of intakes of SSBs, ASBs, and added sugar from SSBs with mortality with adjustment for demographic, lifestyle, comorbidity, and dietary factors.

resultsAfter a mean follow-up of 7.9 years, 3878 deaths were identified. The multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) associated with each additional serving/d of SSB were 1.05 (1.01-1.09) for all-cause mortality and 1.11 (1.03-1.21) for heart disease mortality. Hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) comparing the extreme quintiles of added sugar intakes from SSBs were 1.22 (1.05-1.42) for all-cause mortality and 1.45 (1.06-1.97) for heart disease mortality. No significant relationship was found between SSB intakes and cancer mortality or between high ASB intakes and mortality. Substituting one serving/d of SSB by an equivalent amount of ASBs, unsweetened coffees and teas, and plain water was associated with a 4-7% lower risk of all-cause mortality.

conclusionHigher SSB intakes were associated with higher risks of all-cause mortality and heart disease mortality. High ASB intakes were not significantly associated with mortality. ASBs, unsweetened coffees and teas, and plain water might be optional alternatives for reducing SSB intakes.