A research conducted by All-Japan Utstein Registry has revealed that consumption of carbonated beverages increases the risk of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA).

According to the results, which were presented at ESC Congress on 1 September, researchers have found that expenditures on carbonated beverages were significantly associated with OHCAs of cardiac but not non-cardiac origin.

The study results were drawn based on the comparison of the age-adjusted incidence of OHCAs to the consumption of various beverages per person between 2005 and 2011 in the 47 prefectures of Japan.

Principle investigator of the research and Dean as well as professor of cardiology at Fukuoka University in Japan Keijiro Saku said: "Carbonated beverages, or sodas, have frequently been demonstrated to increase the risk of metabolic syndrome and CVD, such as subclinical cardiac remodeling and stroke.

"However, until now the association between drinking large amounts of carbonated beverages and fatal CVD, or out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) of cardiac origin, was unclear."

The research centred on 797,422 patients who had OHCAs of cardiac and non-cardiac origin from the All-Japan Utstein Registry of the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

The information on expenditures on beverages per person was obtained from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, using expenditure on beverages as a proxy measure.

Saku added: "Carbonated beverage consumption was significantly and positively associated with OHCAs of cardiac origin in Japan, indicating that beverage habits may have an impact on fatal CVD. The acid in carbonated beverages might play an important role in this association.

"Our data on carbonated beverage consumption is based on expenditure and the association with OHCA is not causal. But the findings do indicate that limiting consumption of carbonated beverages could be beneficial for health."