19 Apr Sugar Sweetened Beverages Linked to Increased Coronary Artery Calcium Deposits

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Yoosoo Chang MD PhD
Center for Cohort Studies, Total Healthcare Center, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine
Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine
Department of Clinical Research Design & Evaluation, SAIHST,
Sungkyunkwan University
Seoul, Korea

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Dr. Chang: Sugar-sweetened carbonated beverage consumption has been linked to obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and clinically manifest coronary heart disease (CHD), but its association with subclinical CHD has been largely unexplored.

We performed a cross-sectional study of 22,210 apparently healthy, asymptomatic Korean adults who underwent image scans to determine how much calcium had built up in their heart arteries. We found that people who drank 5 cups or more of sugar-sweetened carbonated beverage per day on average had the greater prevalence and higher degree of calcium deposits in the arteries compared to non-drinkers. This association persisted after controlling other factors and was observed across various subgroups, supporting an independently harmful effect of sugar-sweetened carbonated beverage on the cardiovascular health.

MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Chang: Our findings indicate that sugar-sweetened carbonated beverages may contribute to cardiovascular disease risk by acting in the subclinical stage of coronary atherosclerosis.

Patients should be mindful of how much sugar-sweetened carbonated beverages they are consuming and try to reduce them for preventing coronary artery disease as well as obesity and diabetes.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Chang: Further mechanistic studies are needed to fully understand the atherogenic effects of sugar-sweetened carbonated beverage consumption.

Citation:

Sugar-sweetened Carbonated Beverage Consumption and Coronary Artery Calcification in Asymptomatic Men and Women

Chun, Sohyun et al. Published Online: April 16, 2016

American Heart Journal , Volume 0 , Issue 0 ,
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2016.03.018

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Last Updated on April 19, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD