Plain language summary
The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is high in today's society, which may lead to weight gain, inflammation, and a number of obesity-associated diseases. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the associations and causal links between the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and cancer, stroke, depression, and cause-specific mortality. Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages significantly increased the risk of cancer, strokes, depression, and cause-specific mortality when compared with the consumption of low or no-sugar-sweetened beverages. As little as a 250ml increment of sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with an increase in risk. Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages increases the risk of ischemic stroke by 10%, CVD-caused mortality by 13%, and cancer-caused mortality by 6.0% compared to those who consume less or no sugar-sweetened beverages. These findings can be used by healthcare professionals to understand the clinical significance of intervention strategies that reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. It is imperative to conduct additional robust studies as there is an insufficient amount of evidence at present to establish a causal connection between the consumption of sugary beverages and the risk of depression, stroke, cancer, and cause-specific mortality.
Abstract
The associations between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and the risk of stroke, depression, cancer, and cause-specific mortality have not been determined, and the quantitative aspects of this link remain unclear. This meta-analysis therefore conducted a systematic review and dose-response analysis to determine their causal links. The database searches were conducted in PubMed, Cochrane library, Embase, Web of Science up to 10 November 2021. The intervention effects were evaluated by relative risk (RR) with 95% confidences (CI). Thirty-two articles met the inclusion criteria. Higher levels of SSB consumption significantly increased the risk of stroke (RR 1.12, 95% CI 1.03-1.23), depression (1.25, 1.11-1.41), cancer (1.10, 1.03-1.17), and all-cause mortality (1.08, 1.05-1.11) compared with none or lower SSB intake. The associations were dose-dependent, with per 250 mL increment of SSB intake daily increasing the risk of stroke, depression, cancer, and all-cause mortality by RR 1.09 (1.03-1.15), 1.08 (1.06-1.10), 1.17 (1.04-1.32), and 1.07 (1.03-1.11), respectively. The link was curved for depression and cancer risk (pnon-linear < 0.05). Subgroup analysis suggested that higher SSB intake increased ischemic stroke by 10%, CVD-caused mortality by 13%, and cancer-caused mortality by 6.0% than none or lower SSB consumption. It is suggested that SSB accounts for a leading risk factor of stroke, depression, cancer, and mortality, and that the risk rises in parallel with the increment of SSB intake (and is affected by participant characteristics).
Methodological quality
Jadad score
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Allocation concealment
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