Article Impact Level: HIGH Data Quality: STRONG Summary of The British Medical Journal, 378, e071204. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2022-071204 Dr. Charlotte Debras et al
Points
- The main goal of the study was to provide awareness about the consumption of artificial sweeteners and their risk associated with cardiovascular disease.
- According to the results of the research, aspartame, acesulfame, potassium, and sucralose are artificial sweeteners and are linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
- The findings of this study also suggest that food additives consumed by people in large numbers through food or beverages are not as safe and healthy as compared to sugar.
Summary
In Europe, data obtained from more than 100000 people provide awareness that consumption of artificial sweeteners is associated with cardiovascular disease. A group study in France showed that the risk of increased cardiovascular disease was 9% due to artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium.
In the NutriNetSante Cohort study, artificial sweetener, aspartame, leads to an increased risk of cerebrovascular disease, while an increased risk of coronary heart disease was due to acesulfame potassium and sucralose. Artificial sweeteners have gained popularity since the late 1990s and early 2000s as a staple in diets worldwide.
The study of the association between artificial sweeteners and cardiovascular disease risk was carried out by a team at the University of Paris and the French Network for Nutrition and Cancer Research. A cohort study based on the web was thrown in 2009 by NutriNet-Santé e-cohort, involving more than 170000 adults of age 15 or older. The purpose was to assess the association between health and nutrition. Only 103,388 adults were included in this study. The results showed an association between artificial sweeteners and cardiovascular disease as artificial sweeteners were consumed by 37.1%. Further analysis showed that aspartame consumption was associated with cerebrovascular events (p= 0.02), whereas Acesulfame potassium (p=0.02) and Sucralose (p= 0.05) were found to be associated with coronary heart disease. These outcomes proposed that artificial sweeteners might be associated with cardiovascular disease. Future studies should be designed based on a large scale to confirm the association between artificial sweeteners and cardiovascular disease. These outcomes necessitate WHO, EFSA, and other agencies to reevaluate food and beverages before being used by people, which should not be considered safe and healthy compared to sugar.
Link to the article: https://www.bmj.com/content/378/bmj-2022-071204
References Debras, C., Chazelas, E., Sellem, L., Porcher, R., Druesne-Pecollo, N., Esseddik, Y., Edelenyi, F. S. de, Agaësse, C., Sa, A. D., Lutchia, R., Fezeu, L. K., Julia, C., Kesse-Guyot, E., Allès, B., Galan, P., Hercberg, S., Deschasaux-Tanguy, M., Huybrechts, I., Srour, B., & Touvier, M. (2022). Artificial sweeteners and risk of cardiovascular diseases: Results from the prospective NutriNet-Santé cohort. BMJ, 378, e071204. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2022-071204
