Where does this news come from?
On January 26, Libelle.nl reported on a study that allegedly shows that sugar in drinks can increase the risk of dementia (1). No association was observed between the risk of dementia and sugar consumption through solid foods.
What did the research include?
German researchers investigated whether there was a link between sugar consumption and the risk of dementia (2).
- That’s why they used the data of a British person Observational study.
- That study followed in total 186,622 peopleduring Average 11 years.
- During the follow-up there was 1,498 cases of dementia.
- At the beginning of the study, participants had to… Eating and living habits Register on a website.
- According to the researchers, the risk of dementia in the group increased significantly Sweetened soft drink Drink (at least 20% of calories daily).
- In that group The risk of dementia increased by 80%.
- The risk was lower among those who drank very little soda.
According to researchers, there is one direct connection Between consumption Sweetened soft drinks And prevention Dementia.
source
(1) These drinks increase the risk of dementia (libelle.nl)01/26/2024.
How should you interpret this news?
We can make a number of important comments about this research.
- At no point did the researchers try anything a permit To find out why liquid sugars increase the risk of dementia, while the same sugars found in solid foods do not.
- However, if you want to prove a causal relationship, it is necessary to be able to do so Prove And To explain.
- You can find many links in the way this study worked. For example, the risk of dementia was lower among those who drank alcohol, but this does not mean that alcohol protects against dementia.
- Participants who get 20% of their daily calories from soft drinks, To live completely unhealthy.
- The bottom line is that they are More than 1 liter of sugary soft drinks drunk Per day.
- This type of lifestyle usually goes hand in hand with the general lifestyle Less healthy eating and living habits.
- Furthermore it Requested the study Eating and living habits Only twice in 10 years. The researchers assume that eating and living habits remained fairly stable.
Residual mixing
A phenomenon that occurs frequently in such observational studies is: Residual mixing. That means it’s still there Disruptive factors The remaining ones have not been fully corrected. Such a factor could be, for example, Fat mass Of the participants.
- Fat mass is assessed using the BMI formula (BMI = weight in kilograms divided by height in meters² or kg/m²).
- However, a high BMI does not necessarily mean high fat mass, but it may also indicate high muscle mass.
distinctAnother study claims the same thing, but with diet soft drinks (3). It makes nutritional research less reliable.
Conclusion
German researchers have found that sugary soft drinks can increase the risk of dementia, unlike sugar found in foods. However, the study is flawed in all aspects, making the results completely implausible. This also applies to people who drink at least one liter of sugary soft drinks per day. These are usually people with unhealthy eating and lifestyle habits, which is a risk factor for developing dementia.
