Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality: insights from nationwide prospective cohort studies and Global Burden of Disease study 2021.

Authors

Xiaolu Tan, Kaiyi Chi, Chunran Lai, Cong Li, Qinyi Li, Minjing Zhuang, Jiahui Cao, Qiaowei Wu, Wei Sun, Xianwen Shang, Yijun Hu, Zhuoting Zhu, Lei Liu, Xiayin Zhang, Honghua Yu

Published in

Diabetology & metabolic syndrome. Jun 21, 2026. Epub Jun 21, 2026.

Abstract

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) consumption has become an emerging global public health concern. The relationship between SSBs consumption and mortality is not yet fully clarified. This study aims to quantify the dose-response relationships between SSBs consumption and mortality risks in US and UK cohorts, while also reviewing up-to-date estimates of SSB-related burden from 1990 to 2021 at a national level.
We conducted a nationwide prospective cohort study and systematic analysis. The study included 13,438 participants from US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (1999-2000 and 2017-2018), and 63,436 participants from UK Biobank (2006-2010). For the systematic analysis using Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 data, mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for the US and UK (1990-2021) were analyzed to generate estimates.
In the US population, during a 9.17-year cohort follow-up, 1,929 deaths were identified among 13,438 participants, while in the UK population, during a 12.41-year cohort follow-up, 3,466 deaths were identified among 63,436 participants. A significant dose-response association was found between higher SSBs consumption and increased all-cause mortality (both P for trend < 0.001), as well as mortality due to cardiovascular disease and chronic lower respiratory diseases. In GBD, SSBs-related mortality and DALYs rates were higher in older populations (55 + years) in both countries, consistent with the results in US NHANES and UK Biobank. Ischemic heart disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus were leading contributors to these burdens.
This study establishes a robust relationship between SSBs consumption and all-cause mortality, mortality caused by cardiovascular disease and chronic lower respiratory diseases. In line with GBD findings, SSBs consumption, especially among elderly populations, should be considered a crucial public health concern.

PMID:
42324544
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 22 Jun 2026.

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