Individuals who have a preference for sugary drinks may be more at risk of cardiovascular disease, a new study suggests. The research associates sweetened beverage consumption with abnormal cholesterol markers, which may spell trouble for heart health in the long run.
As many as 17.9 million people die each year because of cardiovascular disease — an umbrella term that refers to different conditions affecting the heart and vascular system.
Among the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease are diet, high blood pressure (hypertension), as well as elevated levels of blood sugar and cholesterol.
An abnormal level of lipids in the blood — called dyslipidemia — is one of the metabolic disorders that doctors try to avert as part of cardiovascular disease prevention.
But to do so, specialists must also understand the factors that may contribute to dyslipidemia. New research — led by investigators from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, MA — now shows that older adults may be more prone to dyslipidemia if they drink sugary beverages on a daily basis.
The study findings appear in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
They indicate that older adults who have a keen preference for sweetened drinks have heightened levels of triglycerides and lowered high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.
This, they say, could later contribute to dyslipidemia that may, in turn, affect cardiovascular health in the long run.
“Our findings show that what we put in our glass may contribute to greater risk of cardiovascular disease via worsening of lipid levels,” says study co-author Nicola McKeown, Ph.D., who is a nutritional epidemiologist.
“Managing blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels is an important goal and a promising strategy for preventing heart attack and stroke,” she continued.
Sugary drinks tied to low ‘good’ cholesterol
In their study, the investigators analyzed data from two cohorts that researchers had enrolled at different stages of the Framingham Offspring Study. The cohorts were 3,146 participants joining between 1991–2014, and 3,584 participants joining between 2002–2011.
To start with, the team analyzed data from the first cohort, which included individuals in their 50s, 60s, and 70s.
The researchers had access to measures of the participants’ HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels from physical examinations at baseline, as well as once every 4 years over an average follow-up period of about 12 years.
