Older women who consumed more diet beverages had higher rates of cardiac events, according to a study that suggests there is a link between diet soda and heart disease.
According to CBS News, a recent U.S. study of almost 60,000 post-menopausal women confirmed that diet soda may lead to an early death due to heart disease, which is a leading killer of middle-age and older women.
Researchers analyzed diet drink intake of 59,614 women - with an average age of 62.8 years - who participated in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study. Over a ten year period, researchers studied the relationship between diet drink consumption and the number of cardiovascular problems.
Researchers then compared that correlation between women who never or rarely drink diet sodas to those who consume two or more diet drinks a day. The study took into account various factors like participants' BMI, physical activity levels, and other lifestyle choices.
The study presented this week at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session in Washington D.C. stated that post-menopausal women who drink two or more diet drinks a day were 30 percent more likely to experience a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack and stroke.
In one of the largest studies of its kind (comparing heart disease to diet beverage consumption), the University of Iowa also found that women who drank two or more diet drinks a day were 50 percent more likely to die from some sort of disease associated with heart problems, including "coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, heart attack, coronary revascularization procedure, ischemic stroke, peripheral arterial disease and cardiovascular death."
"Our findings are in line with and extend data from previous studies showing an association. We were interested in this research because there was a relative lack of data about diet drinks and cardiovascular outcomes and mortality," researcher Ankur Vyas of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics said in a news release. "This could have major public health implications."
The study found that these women also had a higher chance of having diabetes, high blood pressure, and a higher BMI, compared to women who rarely or never drank diet soda or artificially flavored beverages. About seven percent of women who consumed less than half the amount per week, had a heart related health issue.
