Purpose: Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) containing high amount of added sugars have increased over the last decades. Due to increased risk of cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, we designed a study to assess the association between SSBs and metabolic syndrome, a collection of cardiovascular risk factors, in these patients.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on T2DM adults (N = 157). Participants had no serious disease or insulin treatment. SSBs records were obtained from a validated food frequency questionnaire. Metabolic syndrome status was extracted from biochemical and anthropometric measurements. Subjects risk factors were compared based on their usual SSBs consumption.
Results: About half of participants consumed at least one serving of SSBs (Mean intake: 145.6 mL/d) on a weekly basis. Men and women had a similar SSBs pattern. Demographic and anthropometric characteristics were identical in both groups. Higher SSBs intake (≥ 0.5 vs <0.5 serving/ week) was positively associated with hypertension (OR: 3.48, 95% CI: 1.31, 9.26) and obesity (OR: 4.61, 95% CI: 1.31, 16.25). After adjustment for confounders, a higher risk of the metabolic syndrome was observed in those with higher SSBs intake (OR: 4.23, 95% CI: 1.42, 12.62).
Conclusion: Drinking SSBs, even in low amounts, could potentially elevate the risk of cardiovascular risk factors in diabetic patients. Reduction of sugary drinks would be an urgent recommendation.
Keywords: Cardiovascular risk; Diabetes; Metabolic syndrome; Sugar-sweetened beverages.