The Study
Artificial sweeteners and risk of incident cardiovascular disease and mortality: evidence from UK Biobank
This study watched a big group of people over time and noticed that those who used more artificial sweeteners also tended to get heart problems more often. But it didn’t make anyone use sweeteners—it just watched what people already did, so we can’t say the sweeteners caused the problems.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
This study looked at people who used sugar-free sweeteners like Canderel in their coffee or cereal and tracked if they got heart problems later.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 567 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Even small daily increases in sweetener intake added up to measurable heart risks over time, especially for non-white people and those without obesity.
- 2For every extra teaspoon of sweetener per day, people had a 1.2% higher chance of heart disease, 1.8% higher chance of clogged heart arteries, and 3.5% higher chance of leg artery disease — and most of this risk came from developing type 2 diabetes first.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Cardiovascular Diabetology
Year
2024
Authors
T. Sun, Juan Yang, Fang Lei, Xuewei Huang, Weifang Liu, Xingyuan Zhang, Lijin Lin, Linsu Sun, Xinlan Xie, Xiao-Jing Zhang, Jingjing Cai, Zhi‐Gang She, Chengsheng Xu, Hongliang Li
Related Content
Claims (6)
People who consume more artificial sweeteners in their diet have a higher rate of cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, and coronary heart disease.
People who consume artificial sweeteners have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, and 70% of this increased risk is accounted for by the development of type 2 diabetes before the heart disease occurs.
People who consume artificial sweeteners and identify as non-white have a higher rate of developing cardiovascular disease over time compared to white individuals who consume similar amounts.
People who consume artificial sweeteners have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, regardless of whether they have a genetic tendency for heart disease; the increase in risk is the same for everyone.
In middle-aged and older adults, consuming one more teaspoon of artificial sweetener per day is linked to higher rates of cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, and peripheral arterial disease.
Higher intake of artificial sweeteners is linked to a very small increase in the risk of heart failure.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.