2023-04-27 01:50:23
Moderating or avoiding the consumption of sugary drinks is always a good idea if we want to have a healthy diet. Some studies have already linked the consumption of this type of soft drink with an increased risk of death. Now, new research suggests that in adults with type 2 diabetes, replacing sugary drinks with water, coffee or tea is linked to lower rates of premature death due to cardiovascular disease and other causes, according to research published by The BMJ. ‘.
A further increase in the consumption of café y tea from before to after diabetes diagnosis was also associated with lower mortality rates. These findings highlight the potential role of health drinks in risk management in adults with type 2 diabetes, the authors note.
In 2021, more than 500 million adults worldwide had type 2 diabetes, which carries an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death, and this number is projected to rise to 783 million by 2045.
Diet plays a key role in diabetes control, but little is known about the intake of specific types of beverages in relation to death and cardiovascular disease among adults with type 2 diabetes.
The researchers drew on data from 15,486 adults (74% women; mean age 61 years) diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who were part of the Nurses’ Health Study (1980-2018) and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. (1986-2018) in the United States.
Beverage consumption was assessed using a validated food questionnaire updated every two and four years. This included sugar-sweetened beverages, artificially sweetened (low-calorie) beverages, fruit juice, coffee, tea, low-fat and whole milk, and water.
During an average of 18.5 years of follow-up, the researchers recorded 3,447 cases of cardiovascular disease and 7,638 deaths.
After accounting for other lifestyle factors and medical history, they found that participants with the highest intake of sugary drinks (more than 1 serving per day) had a 20% increased risk of death from any cause compared to participants with the lowest intake (less than 1 serving per month).
In contrast, high consumption of other beverages (up to 6 servings per day) was associated with a lower mortality: 26% lower for coffee, 21% for tea, 23% for water and 12% for low-fat milk.
Compared with those who did not change their coffee consumption in the period after diabetes diagnosis, 18% lower all-cause mortality was observed in those who increased their coffee consumption. A similar pattern was also found for all-cause mortality for tea and low-fat milk.
Replacing sugary drinks with those with sweeteners was also associated with lower mortality. Similarly, swapping sugary or sweetened soft drinks, fruit juice, or whole milk for coffee, tea, or water was associated with lower all-cause mortality.
Being a observational studythe cause cannot be established, and the researchers acknowledge that individual beverage consumption may be related to other dietary and lifestyle risk factors for cardiovascular disease and mortality among adults with diabetes, and cannot rule out the possibility of that measurement errors or misclassification may have influenced the results.
However, they argue that this is a large study, with a long follow-up period, high response rates, and detailed and repeated assessments of dietary and lifestyle variables before and after a diabetes diagnosis.
Overall, these results provide additional evidence emphasizing the importance of beverage choices to maintain general health among adults with diabetes. Further studies are needed to replicate and further explore these important associations,” he concludes.
“This new study expands our understanding of the health implications of different beverages for adults with type 2 diabetes,” says Nita Forouhi of the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, in a linked editorial. In it, she points out that questions remain, such as the effect of adding sugar to coffee or tea, and the impact of other popular drinks, such as milkshakes, fruit smoothies, and hot chocolate. It’s also not clear if the findings apply to different population groups, since the study focused on predominantly white American health professionals.
However, “drink choice clearly matters,” he says. “Avoiding sugary drinks is compelling in the general population, and it makes sense to shift focus to others that are more likely to have positive health effects: coffee, tea, water, and low-fat milk,” she concludes.
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