Link between diet drinks, heart disease suggested in study

New research presented inthe American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions is raisingquestions about the connection between diet drinks and heart problems in post-menopausal women,with one cardiologist saying more studies are needed.

The lead researcher on the study, Dr. Ankur Vyas, said although its not an extreme risk, there is an association between high levels of diet drink consumption and mortality.

The data they used in the research was drawn from theWomens Health Initiative, a study of60,000 participants.

Theteam of researchers from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics zeroed in on diet drink consumption in relation to cardiovascular issues in women aged 50 to79.

"And they saw is what I would consider a fairly striking finding," said Dr. Jeffrey Kuvin, a cardiologist at Tufts Medical Centerand the incoming co-chair of the annual Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology.

"The finding is still subject to further analysis and randomized controlled studies, but the authors foundthat those who consumed two or more diet drinks per daywere approximately30 per centmore likely to suffer a cardiovascular event and 50 per centmore likely to actually die from cardiovascular disease."

For the study, the women were divided into groups. The firstandlargest groupdrankup to three diet drinks a month. The second group drank between one and foureach week, and the third group consumed five to seven dietdrinks per week.The fourthand smallest groupdrank two or more diet sodas or diet fruit drinks every day.

Kuvin saidresults wereadjusted for risk factors that could sway the data one way or the other.

"They took into consideration, age, race, smoking, other known risk factors for heart disease like diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass indexphysical activity and some nutritional elements as well," he said.

And while an increased risk was notable in the group that consumed two or more diet drinks per day, the other three groups had about the same level of risk.

I think, based on what we know so far, that would be extremely prematureto consider this as a health hazard.- Dr. JeffreyKuvin

Kuvin said more research is neededto figure out the causal relationship between diet drinks and heart disease.

Studies about health problems in relation to sugary drinks are common, but this isnt the first time the connection between health issues and diet beverages has been put under the microscope.

"There have been some reports suggesting a link between diet drinks and metabolic syndrome,"Kuvinexplained,"which is a grouping of patients who have obesity, blood sugar instability, high blood pressure and some cholesterol abnormalities."

He saidthe next step is to think about potential causes, looking at a randomized controlled study to analyze this particular variable in more depth.

"Is this a smoking gun,or is this a bit of statistical analysis thats thought-provoking but doesnt really play itself out in more controlled study?" he said.

"I think, based on what we know so far, that would be extremely prematureto consider this as a health hazard."