How 4 diet drinks can double diabetes complications: Victorian study

Public health

By Mardi Chapman

2 Feb 2018

More than four cans of diet soft drink per week can more than double the risk of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) – adding to the evidence that switching to artificially sweetened soft drinks doesn’t do anyone any favours.

The finding was independent of traditional risk factors such as glycaemic control and duration of diabetes.

The study conducted at the Centre for Eye Research Australia in Melbourne looked at soft drink consumption in more than 600 adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

Almost half of the participants (46.8%) reported consuming diet soft drinks at either a moderate level (1-4 cans per week) or high level (>4 cans per week).

Compared to no consumption, high diet soft drink intake was associated with an increased odds of PDR (OR=2.6; p=0.024) while moderate intake of diet soft drink consumption was also associated with an increased odds but of borderline significance (OR=1.92; p=0.058).

There was no association between any level of diet soft drink consumption and non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy or diabetic macular edema.

The authors said the findings suggested different pathophysiologic processes underlie the development of diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema.

The study also found almost a third (31.2%) of participants reported drinking regular soft drinks, but consumption was not associated with increased risk of any eye disease.

They said the cross-sectional study could not capture information on whether people may have switched from regular to diet soft drinks on their diagnosis of either diabetes or diabetic retinopathy.

“Overall, these findings support the growing body of evidence suggesting that regular and frequent consumption of artificially sweetened beverages may have detrimental vascular outcomes.”

Senior author Professor Ecosse Lamoureux from the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) told the limbic clinicians could counsel their patients to reduce or eliminate their intake of diet soft drinks.

“This advice is particularly important for individuals with existing diabetic retinopathy to prevent the disease from progressing to its vision-threatening stages.”

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