Norwegian Study Alleges Association Between Soda Consumption and Preterm Births

Relying on data provided by a study of more than 60,000 Norwegian women from 1999 to 2008, Swedish and Norwegian researchers have found that a “high intake of both AS [artificially sweetened] and SS [sugar-sweetened] beverages is associated with an increased risk of preterm delivery.” Linda Englund-Ögge, et al., “Association between intake of artificially sweetened and sugar-sweetened beverages and preterm delivery: a large prospective cohort study,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, August 2, 2012. The women were asked about servings of carbonated soft drinks and non-carbonated beverages, both AS and SS, per day, week and month, and a serving was defined as 250 mL for all beverages. The groups were divided into AS and SS groups and further divided into intake categories.

For women consuming more than one serving per day of AS beverages, the adjusted odds ratio for preterm delivery was 1.11. Consumption of more than one serving of SS beverage per day had an adjusted odds ratio for preterm delivery of 1.25. The researchers acknowledged the study’s limitations, i.e., the possibility of misreporting and underreporting, socioeconomic factors, other dietary factors, smoking status, education, and body mass index. The researchers declined to say that the risk of preterm delivery is caused by the effects of the beverages, but concluded that daily intake “may be associated” with an increased risk.