High consumption of artificially sweetened beverages and associated risk of cardiovascular events: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: With the rising use of artificial sweeteners as sugar substitutes, concerns regarding their impact on cardiovascular health have emerged. Artificially sweetened beverages are the primary source of diet sweeteners, but despite approval by national food agencies, evidence of their association with cardiovascular events has not been conclusive. Our Meta-Analysis assessed the relationship between artificially sweetened beverage consumption and long-term outcomes of cardiovascular events in extended follow-up cohorts.

Methods: Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases were systematically searched for cohort studies investigating the incidence of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, stroke, and coronary heart disease among individuals with high consumption of ASB compared to minimal or no consumption. Pooled event hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated using a random-effects model in R software, with heterogeneity assessed via I² statistics.

Results: We included twelve prospective cohorts comprising 1,224,560 patients. Analyses were conducted on patient groups with data adjusted for co-founding, such as dietary factors and comorbidities. One or more daily dose of Artificially sweetened beverages was significantly associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality (HR 1.14; 95% 1.03 to 1.26; p < 0.01;), Cardiovascular mortality (HR 1.29; 95% 1.1 to 1.53; p < 0.01), and stroke (HR 1.15; 95% 1.01 to 1.32; p = 0.04;).

Conclusion: In this meta-analysis, we found a significant association between high consumption of ASBs and increased incidence of ACM, CVD, and stroke, highlighting potential long-term cardiovascular implications.