Greater consumption of sugar-sweetened and artificially-sweetened soft drinks is linked to a higher incidence of all-cause mortality, researchers have warned. "We found that higher soft drink intake was associated with a greater risk of death from any cause regardless of whether sugar-sweetened or artificially-sweetened drinks were consumed," said study senior author Neil Murphy from International Agency for Research on Cancer in France.

"Our results for sugar-sweetened soft drinks provide further support to limit consumption and to replace them with healthier beverages, preferably water," Murphy said. For the study published in the JAMA Internal Medicine, nearly 452,000 men and women from 10 European countries participated.

The study found that drinking two or more glasses per day -- compared with less than one glass per month -- of soft drinks, sugar-sweetened soft drinks, and artificially-sweetened soft drinks was associated with a higher risk of death from all causes during an average follow-up of 16 years in which 41,693 deaths occurred.

According to the study, 43 percent died from cancers, 21.8 percent from circulatory diseases and 2.9 percent from digestive diseases. The findings support public health initiatives to limit soft drink consumption.

- IANS