Association between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and incident hypertension in Korean adults: a prospective study

Purpose: Epidemiological information on the association between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and the risk for hypertension (HTN) in Koreans is very limited. We tested the hypothesis that increased SSB consumption is related to a higher risk of HTN among middle-aged Korean adults in a Korean community-based cohort. Methods: From participants of the cohort from 2001 to 2010, we selected 5775 subjects without HTN, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer and who had no information on dietary assessment at baseline. To assess the relationship between SSB consumption and HTN, we estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals using Cox regression analysis. In addition, stratified analysis by body mass index (BMI) was conducted. Results: During the follow-up, we identified 1175 cases of incident HTN. The adjusted HR of HTN for the highest quartile of SSB consumption was 1.21 compared to the lowest quartile. Furthermore, higher consumption of SSB was significantly associated with increased incidence of HTN in subjects with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m ² , whereas there was no significant association among subjects with BMI < 25 kg/m ² . Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that SSB consumption was associated with an increased risk of HTN, particularly among obese participants.