Low-calorie Sweeteners and the Risk of Preterm Delivery

Results From Two Studies and a Meta-analysis

Carlo La Vecchi

J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care. 2013;39(1):12-13. 

 

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• Background
• Norwegian Cohort Data
• Danish Cohort Data
• Meta-analysis

• References

Background

The possible relation between low-calorie sweeteners (as well as sugar-sweetened beverages) and unfavourable pregnancy outcomes, in particular preterm delivery and low birth weight, has recently become of considerable interest, given the widespread use of low-calorie sweeteners, and the high frequency of preterm deliveries in high-income countries.

Meta-analysis

We pooled the main findings of the two studies described above using standard meta-analytic techniques.^[8] The Danish data were introduced in two separate strata of carbonated and non-carbonated beverages, since any possible association was apparently stronger for carbonated beverages, both sugar-sweetened and low-calorie ones.

The results of the meta-analysis are given in Table 1. The pooled RRs in all levels of consumption were close to unity both for sugar-sweetened and for low-calorie beverages and, most important, there was no difference in the risk estimates of sugar and low-calorie beverages, since all the CIs largely overlap.

There is therefore no evidence that low-calorie beverages, which are US Food and Drug Administration approved for consumption during pregnancy, have an impact on preterm delivery at any variance from that of sugar-sweetened beverages.