An international team of scientists has discovered that the use of "dietary" soft drinks containing artificial sweeteners instead of sugar increases the risk of premature birth.

Researchers from Denmark, Iceland and the US analyzed the data of nearly 60,000 pregnant women who from 1996 to 2002 participated in the Danish National Cohort Study of Childbirth. The subject of the analysis was the consumption of carbonated and non-carbonated beverages containing sugar or sweetener, in the middle of pregnancy (around the 25th week). The data were obtained from women's questionnaires on nutrition, as well as by telephone surveys.

It turned out that women who daily consumed carbonated or non-carbonated low-calorie drinks with a sweetener, the risk of premature birth (before the 37th week) is significantly higher than the rest. At the same time, the risk directly depends on the number of drinks consumed and is the same for women with normal weight and obesity. The mechanism of this action of sugar substitutes remains unclear.

Based on the findings, a member of the research team Thorhallur Halldorsson recommended that pregnant women abandon regular consumption of artificially sweetened drinks.

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