Intake of artificially sweetened soft drinks and risk of preterm delivery: a prospective cohort study in 59,334 Danish pregnant women.
American Journal of Clinical Nutritian.
Daily consumption of artificially sweetened soft drinks may increase the risk for preterm (premature) delivery, according to the results of a Danish prospective cohort study reported in the September issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
"Artificially sweetened soft drinks are often promoted as an alternative to Sugar-sweetened soft drinks. However, the safety of artificial sweeteners has been disputed, and consequences of high intakes of artificial sweeteners for pregnant women have been minimally addressed." write Thorhallur I. Halldorsson, fromStatens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, Denmark, and colleagues.
The goal of the study was to evaluate the association between consumption of sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened soft drinks and preterm delivery.
Participants were 59,334 women enrolled in the Danish National Birth Cohort from 1996 to 2002. The main study endpoint was preterm delivery, defined as less than 37 weeks of gestation.
Consumption of artificially sweetened carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks was associated with an increased risk for preterm delivery when compared with women who did not drink artificially sweetened carbonated soft drinks. Women who drank at least 1 serving daily was higher and women who drank at least 4 servings daily was much higher than those who did not drink artificially sweetened carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks. Increased risk was stronger for early preterm and moderately preterm delivery vs late-preterm delivery.
For sugar-sweetened carbonated or noncarbonated soft drinks, no apparent association with the risk for preterm delivery was observed. However sugar-sweetened soft drinks are associated with weight gain.
"Daily intake of artificially sweetened soft drinks may increase the risk of preterm delivery," the study authors write.
"The relative consistency of our findings for carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks and the absence of an association for sugar-sweetened soft drinks suggest that the content of artificial sweeteners might be the causal factor." the study authors conclude.
The European Union (EU) Integrated Research Project EARNEST supported this study. The Danish National Birth Cohort has been financed by the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, the Danish Heart Association, the Danish Medical Research Council, and the Sygekassernes Helsefond Danish National Research Foundation, Danish Pharmaceutical Association, Ministry of Health, National Board of Health, Statens Serum Institut.
Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutritian. 2010 Sep;92(3):626-33. Epub 2010 Jun 30.Halldorsson TI, Strøm M, Petersen SB, Olsen SF.Centre for Fetal Programming, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
