Preliminary Study Links Stroke, Diet Soda - National Stroke Association

Preliminary Study Links Stroke, Diet Soda
Friday, February 11, 2011

UPI.com

A study of 2,564 people in New York City who say they drank diet soda daily had a 61 percent higher risk of vascular events such as stroke, researchers say.

Researchers at Columbia University in New York and Miami's Miller School of Medicine say the Northern Manhattan Study began in 1993 with 3,298 participants age 40 and older – 63 percent women, 21 percent white, 24 percent black and 53 percent Hispanic – who are still tracked.

"If our results are confirmed with future studies, then it would suggest that diet soda may not be the optimal substitute for sugar-sweetened beverages for protection against vascular outcomes," lead author Hannah Gardener of the University of Miami said in a statement.