Diet and regular soft drinks linked to higher MASLD risk, study finds

A large observational study presented Monday at United European Gastroenterology Week in Berlin found that drinking one slim can a day of either sugar sweetened or artificially sweetened soft drinks was associated with a substantially higher risk of metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD. Researchers who followed 123,788 adults in the UK Biobank for a median of about 10 years reported that consuming more than 250 milliliters per day of low or non sugar sweetened beverages was linked to a 60 percent higher risk of developing MASLD, while the same intake of sugar sweetened beverages was linked to a 50 percent higher risk.

The study assessed beverage intake using repeated 24 hour dietary questionnaires administered between 2009 and 2012 and tracked new diagnoses of MASLD, liver fat accumulation, and liver related deaths over follow up. During the study period 1,178 participants developed MASLD and 108 died from liver related causes. Researchers reported that low or nonsugar sweetened beverages were associated with an increased risk of liver related mortality, whereas sugar sweetened beverages were not.

Lead author Lihe Liu, a graduate student in...