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The Association between Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged and Older People: A Meta-Analysis

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Abstract

Objective

To explore the association between the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and cognitive dysfunction in middle-aged and older adults, so as to provide an evidence-based basis for the early prevention of cognitive dysfunction.

Methods

A comprehensive search of relevant literature was conducted in PubMed, EMBase, Cochrane, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science from the inception until January 2021. Odds ratios (OR), hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using a random-effects, generic inverse variance method. Meta-analysis of the included studies was performed using Review Manager 5.4.

Results

A total of 10 studies on the association between sugary beverages and cognitive dysfunction in middle-aged and older adults were included, of which 3 were cross-sectional studies and the rest were cohort studies. Eight of the ten studies had results suggestive of a negative association. However, Meta-analysis results showed that the association between the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and the risk of cognitive impairment was not statistically significant (OR=1.59, 95% CI: 0.93–2.74, P=0.08); but from two studies, the hazard ratios of all-cause dementia in middle-aged and older people consuming sugar-sweetened beverages was 2.77 (95%CI: 2.24–3.43, P<0.00001); the hazard ratios of Alzheimer’s disease in middle-aged and older people consuming sugar-sweetened beverages was 2.63 (95%CI: 1.70–4.05, P<0.0001).

Conclusion

There is insufficient evidence to state conclusively that sugar-sweetened beverages intake causes cognitive dysfunction in middle-aged and older adults.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Yifan Zheng for figure editing in this manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for publication.

Funding

Funding: This work was supported by Special Research project of Clinical Toxicology of Chinese Society of Toxicology (CST2020CT104).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Pharmacy, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan, 250014, China

    Q. Sun, Y. Yang, X. Wang, R. Yang & X. Li

  2. School of Basic Medicine and Clinical Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211100, China

    Q. Sun

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  4. R. Yang
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Sun, Q., Yang, Y., Wang, X. et al. The Association between Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged and Older People: A Meta-Analysis. J Prev Alzheimers Dis 9, 323–330 (2022). https://doi.org/10.14283/jpad.2021.71

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