Added sugars linked with hyperlipidemia

January 01, 0001

Added sugars linked with hyperlipidemia

The health impact of sugars in one’s diet has been a topic of medical and popular discussion. These US researcher sought to assess the association between consumption of added dietary sugars and blood lipid levels. They performed a cross-sectional study of adults (n = 6113) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Participants were grouped by dietary added sugars.

The researchers report: "A mean of 15.8% of consumed calories was from added sugars. Among participants consuming less than 5%, 5% to less than 17.5%, 17.5% to less than 25%, and 25% or greater of total energy as added sugars, adjusted mean HDL-C levels were, respectively, 58.7, 57.5, 53.7, 51.0, and 47.7 mg/dL, geometric mean triglyceride levels were 105, 102, 111, 113, and 114 mg/dL, and LDL-C levels modified by sex were 116, 115, 118, 121, and 123 mg/dL among women. There were no significant trends in LDL-C levels among men. Among higher consumers (10% added sugars) the odds of low HDL-C levels were 50% to more than 300% greater compared with the reference group (less than 5% added sugars)."

The researchers concluded: "In this study, there was a statistically significant correlation between dietary added sugars and blood lipid levels among US adults."

This study raises concerns further concern about the health impact of added sugars.


For the full abstract, click here.

JAMA 303(15):1490-1497, 21 April 2010 © 2010 American Medical Association
Caloric Sweetener Consumption and Dyslipidemia Among US Adults. Jean A. Welsh, Andrea Sharma, Jerome L. Abramson, Viola Vaccarino, Cathleen Gillespie, Miriam B. Vos.

Category: T. Endocrine/Metabolic/Nutritional. Keywords: sugar, added sugars, dyslipidemia, hyperlipidemia, cholesterol, cross sectional study, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by Dr Paul Schaefer, Toledo, Ohio. Posted on Global Family Doctor 7 May 2010

Pearls are an independent product of the Cochrane primary care group and are meant for educational use and not to guide clinical care.

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