title: Consumption of soft drinks and health-related quality of life in the adult population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Despite the accumulated evidence on the health risks associated with sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), the industry has funded mass communication strategies promoting the idea that soft drinks, including SSB, may represent a source of well-being. This study assessed the association between consumption of soft drinks and health-related quality of life (HRQL), as a proxy of well-being, in the adult population of Spain.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cohort was established in 2008-2010 with 8417 individuals representative of the Spanish population aged 18-60 years. Habitual soft drink consumption was assessed with a validated diet history at baseline. HRQL was measured using the SF-12 questionnaire at baseline and in a subsample of 2132 study participants in 2012. The analyses were performed using linear regression and adjusted for the main confounders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In cross-sectional analyses at baseline, those who drank ⩾1 serving/day of SSB had a lower (worse) score on the physical composite summary (PCS) of the SF-12 (adjusted linear regression coefficient: -1.08; 95% confidence interval (CI): -1.60 to -0.54) than those who drank <1 serving/week. Results were similar among individuals younger than 35 years (-1.06; 95% CI: -1.79 to -0.32), those who were not dieting (-1.21; 95% CI: -1.80 to -0.62), those who did not lose >5 kg in the previous 4 years (-0.79; 95% CI: -1.87 to 0.29), and in those without morbidity (-1.18; 95% CI: -1.91 to -0.46). Neither SSBs nor artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) showed an association with the mental composite summary (MCS) of the SF-12. In the prospective analyses, no association was observed between baseline consumption of SSBs or ASBs and the changes in the PCS and MCS score from 2008/2010 to 2012.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  No evidence was found that soft drink consumption has a beneficial effect on either the physical or mental dimensions of HRQL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and IdiPAZ (Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Hospital Universitario La Paz), Madrid, Spain.|CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.|Department of Medicine, Preventive Medicine and Public Health Area, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lana
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and IdiPAZ (Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Hospital Universitario La Paz), Madrid, Spain.|CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lopez-Garcia
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and IdiPAZ (Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Hospital Universitario La Paz), Madrid, Spain.|CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Artalejo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002253:Carbonated Beverages; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000494:pharmacology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D019649:Food Industry; D006262:Health; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D040541:Marketing; D008875:Middle Aged; D064306:Non-Nutritive Sweeteners / Q000494:pharmacology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013549:Sweetening Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019422:Dietary Sucrose; D064306:Non-Nutritive Sweeteners; D013549:Sweetening Agents