Drinking Diet Soda Linked to Premature Birth

COPENHAGENPregnant women who drink large amounts of artificially sweetened soft drinks have a higher chance of preterm delivery, according to new research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Danish researchers analyzed nearly 60,000 pregnant women who participated in the Danish National Birth Cohort (19962002). Their findings revealed that pregnant women who drank at least one serving of diet soda a day were 38 percent more likely to deliver preterm; pregnant women who had at least four diet sodas a day were 80 percent more likely to deliver early.

Soft drink intake was assessed in mid-pregnancy by using a food-frequency questionnaire. Preterm delivery (<37 wk) was the primary outcome measure. Covariate information was assessed by telephone interviews.

There was an association between intake of artificially sweetened carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks and an increased risk of preterm delivery (P for trend: 0.001, both variables). In comparison with women with no intake of artificially sweetened carbonated soft drinks, the adjusted odds ratio for women who consumed one serving of artificially sweetened carbonated soft drinks/d was 1.38 (95% CI: 1.15, 1.65). The corresponding odds ratio for women who consumed four servings of artificially sweetened carbonated soft drinks/d was 1.78 (95% CI: 1.19, 2.66). The association was observed for normal-weight and overweight women. A stronger increase in risk was observed for early preterm and moderately preterm delivery than with late-preterm delivery. No association was observed for sugar-sweetened carbonated soft drinks (P for trend: 0.29) or for sugar-sweetened non-carbonated soft drinks (P for trend: 0.93).