Beverage Consumption, Genetic Predisposition, and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Among Adults With Type 2 Diabetes

Background: The evidence regarding the relationship between different types of beverages and cardiovascular health in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) is scarce. Aims: To prospectively examine the associations between individual beverage consumption, genetic predisposition, and risk of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) among adults with T2D. Methods: We analyzed the associations of individual beverage intake with risks of CVD and ischemic heart disease (IHD) in 7315 participants with T2D, overall or stratified by genetic risk to CVD, using data from the UK Biobank study. Results: During a median follow-up of 6.1 years, 878 incident CVD cases were identified, including 517 IHD cases. Higher intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs), and natural juices were each linearly associated with a higher CVD (P-nonlinearity > .05). Comparing the highest to lowest groups of beverage consumption, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) of CVD were 1.54 (1.14, 2.07) for SSBs, 1.34 (1.07, 1.69) for ASBs, and 1.33 (1.01, 1.76) for natural juices. Similar results were observed for incident IHD. Moreover, no significant interactions between these beverages and the CVD genetic risk score were observed. Replacing half-unit/day of SSBs or natural juices with coffee, tea, or yogurt, but not ASBs, was associated with a 20% to 46% lower risk of CVD and IHD. Interpretation: Higher intakes of SSBs, ASBs, and natural juices were each linearly associated with an increased risk of CVD among individuals with T2D, regardless of genetic predisposition. Our findings highlight the importance of selecting healthy beverage options to improve cardiovascular health in patients with T2D.