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Prospective associations and population impact of sweet beverage intake and type 2 diabetes, and effects of substitutions with alternative beverages.


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Authors

O'Connor, Laura 
Lentjes, Marleen AH 
Wareham, Nicholas J 

Abstract

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: This study aimed to evaluate the association of types of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) (soft drinks, sweetened-milk beverages, sweetened tea/coffee), artificially sweetened beverages (ASB) and fruit juice with incident type 2 diabetes and determine the effects of substituting non-SSB for SSB and the population-attributable fraction of type 2 diabetes due to total sweet beverages. METHODS: Beverage consumption of 25,639 UK-resident adults without diabetes at baseline (1993-1997) in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Norfolk study was assessed using 7-day food diaries. During 10.8 years of follow-up 847 incident type 2 diabetes cases were verified. RESULTS: In adjusted Cox regression analyses there were positive associations (HR [95% CI] per serving/day]) for soft drinks 1.21 (1.05, 1.39), sweetened-milk beverages 1.22 (1.05, 1.43) and ASB 1.22 (1.11, 1.33), but not for sweetened tea/coffee 0.98 (0.94, 1.02) or fruit juice 1.01 (0.88, 1.15). Further adjustment for adiposity attenuated the association of ASB, HR 1.06 (0.93, 1.20). There was a positive dose-response relationship with total sweet beverages: HR per 5% energy 1.18 (1.11, 1.26). Substituting ASB for any SSB did not reduce the incidence in analyses accounting for energy intake and adiposity. Substituting one serving/day of water or unsweetened tea/coffee for soft drinks and for sweetened-milk beverages reduced the incidence by 14%-25%. If sweet beverage consumers reduced intake to below 2% energy, 15% of incident diabetes might be prevented. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: The consumption of soft drinks, sweetened-milk beverages and energy from total sweet beverages was associated with higher type 2 diabetes risk independently of adiposity. Water or unsweetened tea/coffee appear to be suitable alternatives to SSB for diabetes prevention. These findings support the implementation of population-based interventions to reduce SSB consumption and increase the consumption of suitable alternatives.

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Keywords

Adiposity, Adult, Aged, Animals, Beverages, Coffee, Cohort Studies, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Diet, Diet Records, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Female, Fruit, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Milk, Population, Prospective Studies, Sweetening Agents, Tea, United Kingdom

Journal Title

Diabetologia

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0012-186X
1432-0428

Volume Title

58

Publisher

Springer Verlag
Sponsorship
Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12015/5)
Medical Research Council (G1000143)
Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12015/1)
Medical Research Council (G0401527)
Medical Research Council (MC_U106179471)
Medical Research Council (G0401527/1)
This work was supported by programme grants from the Medical Research Council (MRC) UK and Cancer Research UK. We acknowledge support from the MRC Epidemiology Unit (grant number MC_UU_12015/5).