Artificially and Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Tied to New Chronic Kidney Disease

Higher intakes of artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are positively associated with developing chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study published online Nov. 25 in Frontiers in Nutrition.

Xiao-Yu Dai, from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in Mianyang, and colleagues examined the associations of SSBs, ASBs, and natural juices with CKD risk. The analysis included 191,956 participants from the UK Biobank followed for a median 10.6 years.

The researchers found that higher consumption of SSBs and ASBs (>1 unit/day versus none) was associated with an elevated risk for CKD (SSB: hazard ratio [HR], 1.45; ASB: HR, 1.52). There was a J-shaped association between natural juices and CKD, with the lowest risk at 0 to 1 unit/day (0 to 1 unit/day versus none: HR, 0.86). For higher intakes of SSBs and ASBs with CKD, the association was mediated by metabolic syndrome by 12.5 and 18.0 percent, respectively.

"Although the causal relationship cannot be established, our results emphasize the critical importance of limiting the consumption of SSBs or ASBs for CKD prevention," the authors write. "Further research is needed to confirm our findings and explore the optimal intake level for the natural juices."

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