Diet sodas okay for diabetics, but study sheds some doubt

Diet sodas are still okay as an alternative to sugary soft drinks for people with diabetes. However, a new study sheds some light on whether frequent consumption can harm the eyes.

Published online in the Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology journal, a new study reports a link between adult patients with diabetes who drink more than four cans of diet soda weekly and a higher incidence of developing proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR).

The study’s researchers sought to determine how diet soda consumption often marketed as a healthier alternative to regular soda might influence the risk of eye complications.

Diabetic retinopathy, a progressive retinal disease, is the most common cause of vision loss among diabetics and a leading cause of blindness among working-age adults.

PDR, the effect of uncontrolled retinal swelling from leaking blood vessels, can go unnoticed by patients and–if left untreated–cause severe vision loss or blindness. However, early detection and regular, comprehensive eye exams can reduce the risk of blindness by 95 percent.

According to the study, researchers selected 609 diabetics Ñ nearly a quarter of which had PDR from the Australian Diabetes Management Project and analyzed their food consumption, including soft drinks.

They found individuals consuming four or more cans of diet soda weekly had more than a two-fold increased incidence of PDR.

Even so, diet soda consumption was not associated with higher odds of less severe diabetic retinopathy or any level of diabetic macular edema.