A recent study conducted by the University of Adelaide in Australia reflect a link to heavy consumption of soft drinks and increased risk of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease according to published reports in the February issue of Respirology.
The researchers found that, among 16,907 participants 16 years of age or older, 11.4 percent reported daily soft drink consumption of more than half a liter. High levels of soft drink consumption were positively linked with asthma and COPD. Overall, 13.3 percent of participants with asthma and 15.6 percent of those with COPD reported drinking more than half a liter of a soft drink per day. After adjusting for sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, the odds ratio (OR) for asthma was 1.26 (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.01 to 1.58) and the OR for COPD was 1.79 (95 percent CI, 1.32 to 2.43) among those consuming more than a half-liter of a soft drink daily compared with those not consuming soft drinks.
Zumin Shi, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Adelaide in Australia, and colleagues collected data using a risk factor surveillance system. Each month, a representative sample of South Australians were randomly selected from the electronic White Pages for interviews using computer-assisted telephone interviewing.