4일(현지시간) 데일리메일에 따르면 학술지 'Neurology'에 실린 이번 연구는 1만2000명 이상의 성인을 대상으로 8년간 추적 조사한 결과다.
연구진은 아스파탐(aspartame), 사카린(saccharin), 아세설팜칼륨(acesulfame potassium), 에리스리톨(erythritol), 자일리톨(xylitol), 소르비톨(sorbitol) 등 6가지 주요 인공 감미료 섭취량과 뇌 건강의 상관관계를 분석했다.
그 결과 해당 감미료를 가장 많이 섭취한 그룹의 뇌는 가장 적게 섭취한 그룹보다 평균 1.6년 더 빨리 노화된 것으로 나타났다.
이들이 하루 평균 섭취한 감미료 양은 약 190~200mg으로, 다이어트 콜라 한 캔 정도의 양에 해당한다.감미료를 많이 섭취한 사람일수록 기억력, 언어능력, 사고력 등 인지 기능 전반이 더 빨리 저하됐으며, 특히 60세 미만의 비교적 젊은 성인층에서 그 영향이 더욱 뚜렷하게 나타났다.
시카고 러시대학의 토마스 먼로 홀랜드 박사는 "중년기의 식습관이 수년 뒤 뇌 건강에 결정적인 영향을 미친다는 증거"라며 "젊을수록 더 조심해야 한다"고 경고했다.
한편 연구진은 일부 과일과 유제품에서 발견되는 천연 감미료인 타가토스도 조사했는데, 유일하게 뇌 기능 저하와 관련이 없는 것으로 나타났다.
Highlights: • The study followed 12,772 adults with an average age of 52 • Researchers tracked seven artificial sweeteners typically found in ultra-processed foods like flavored water, soda, energy drinks, yogurt and low-calorie desserts • People who consumed the highest total amounts of these sweeteners had faster decline in overall thinking and memory skills compared to people who consumed the lowest amounts • The faster decline equaled about 1.6 years of aging • Researchers found a link in people under 60 but not older than 60 • While the study found links, it does not prove that sweeteners cause cognitive decline MINNEAPOLIS – Some sugar substitutes may come with unexpected consequences for long-term brain health, according to a study published in the September 3, 2025, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study examined seven low- and no-calorie sweeteners and found that people who consumed the highest amounts experienced faster declines in thinking and memory skills compared to those who consumed the lowest amounts. The link was even stronger in people with diabetes. While the study showed a link between the use of some artificial sweeteners and cognitive decline, it did not prove that they were a cause. The artificial sweeteners examined in the study were aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame-K, erythritol, xylitol, sorbitol and tagatose. These are mainly found in ultra-processed foods like flavored water, soda, energy drinks, yogurt and low-calorie desserts. Some are also used as a standalone sweetener. “Low- and no-calorie sweeteners are often seen as a healthy alternative to sugar, however our findings suggest certain sweeteners may have negative effects on brain health over time,” said study author Claudia Kimie Suemoto, MD, PhD, of the University of São Paulo in Brazil. The study included 12,772 adults from across Brazil. The average age was 52, and participants were followed for an average of eight years. Participants completed questionnaires about diet at the start of the study, detailing what they ate and drank over the past year. Researchers divided them into three groups based on the total amount of artificial sweeteners they consumed. The lowest group consumed an average of 20 milligrams per day (mg/day) and the highest group consumed an average of 191 mg/day. For aspartame, this amount is equivalent to one can of diet soda. Sorbitol had the highest consumption, with an average of 64 mg/day. Participants were given cognitive tests at the start, middle and end of the study to track memory, language and thinking skills over time. The tests assessed areas such as verbal fluency, working memory, word recall and processing speed. After adjusting for factors such as age, sex, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, researchers found people who consumed the highest amount of sweeteners showed faster declines in overall thinking and memory skills than those who consumed the lowest amount, with a decline that was 62% faster. This is the equivalent of about 1.6 years of aging. Those in the middle group had a decline that was 35% faster than the lowest group, equivalent to about 1.3 years of aging. When researchers broke the results down by age, they found that people under the age of 60 who consumed the highest amounts of sweeteners showed faster declines in verbal fluency and overall cognition when compared to those who consumed the lowest amounts. They did not find links in people over 60. They also found that the link to faster cognitive decline was stronger in participants with diabetes than in those without diabetes. When looking at individual sweeteners, consuming aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame-k, erythritol, sorbitol and xylitol was associated with a faster decline in overall cognition, particularly in memory. They found no link between the consumption of tagatose and cognitive decline. “While we found links to cognitive decline for middle-aged people both with and without diabetes, people with diabetes are more likely to use artificial sweeteners as sugar substitutes,” Suemoto said. “More research is needed to confirm our findings and to investigate if other refined sugar alternatives, such as applesauce, honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar, may be effective alternatives.” A limitation of the study was that not all artificial sweeteners were included. Also, diet information was reported by the participants, who may not have remembered accurately everything they ate. The study was supported by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. Discover more about brain health at BrainandLife.org, from the American Academy of Neurology. This resource also offers a magazine, podcast, and books that connect patients, caregivers and anyone interested in brain health with the most trusted information, straight from the world’s leading experts in brain health. Follow Brain & Life® on Facebook, X and Instagram.
The American Academy of Neurology is the leading voice in brain health. As the world’s largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals with more than 40,000 members, the AAN provides access to the latest news, science and research affecting neurology for patients, caregivers, physicians and professionals alike. The AAN’s mission is to enhance member career fulfillment and promote brain health for all. A neurologist is a doctor who specializes in the diagnosis, care and treatment of brain, spinal cord and nervous system diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, concussion, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, headache and migraine.
Explore the latest in neurological disease and brain health, from the minds at the AAN at AAN.com or find us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
- Higher artificial sweetener intake was linked with faster cognitive decline in middle-age adults.
- No association emerged between sweetener use and decline in people ages 60 and older.
- Cognitive decline was tied to artificial sweeteners in people with and without diabetes.
Midlife cognitive scores fell as intake of low-calorie and no-calorie artificial sweeteners rose, a longitudinal study of civil servants in Brazil showed.
People ages 35 to 59 in the highest tertiles of artificial sweetener use had faster declines in verbal fluency (second tertile: β = -0.016; third tertile: β = -0.040) over 8 years, reported Claudia Kimie Suemoto, MD, PhD, of the University of São Paulo, and co-authors.
Compared with those in the lowest tertile, they also had faster downturns in global cognition (second tertile: β = -0.008; third tertile: β = -0.024), the researchers wrote in Neurologyopens in a new tab or window.
Consumption of aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame-k, erythritol, sorbitol, and xylitol was tied to faster drops in global cognition, particularly in memory and verbal fluency domains. No link between tagatose, a natural sugar, and cognitive decline emerged.
In people without diabetes, the highest level of artificial sweetener use was associated with faster declines in verbal fluency and global cognition. In people with diabetes, the highest use was linked with faster downturns in memory and global cognition.
"While we found links to cognitive decline for middle-aged people both with and without diabetes, people with diabetes are more likely to use artificial sweeteners as sugar substitutes," Suemoto said in a statement. "More research is needed to confirm our findings and to investigate if other refined sugar alternatives, such as applesauce, honey, maple syrup, or coconut sugar, may be effective alternatives."
Sugar-free ultraprocessed foods -- diet beverages, energy drinks, yogurts, snacks, low-calorie desserts, and milk-based beverages, for example -- often contain low- and no-calorie sweeteners, the researchers noted. Some studies have found that late-life consumptionopens in a new tab or window of sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened beverages was not associated with dementia. Others have linked sweetened beverages with strokeopens in a new tab or window and cognitive risk.
The current study "builds on mounting evidence that common dietary exposures, particularly ultraprocessed food additives, once considered benign, may influence brain health in ways neurologists and other healthcare professionals are only beginning to understand," observed Thomas Holland, MD, MS, of Rush Medical College in Chicago, in an accompanying editorialopens in a new tab or window.
This research has several key implications for clinicians, Holland noted. Its use of rigorous statistical modeling "strengthen our confidence in the observed cognitive associations," he wrote. In addition, assessments of individual sweeteners suggest that "multiple low- and no-calorie sweeteners, not just erythritol, may pose cognitive risks."
The biological mechanisms underlying these findings may hold particular relevance for neurologists, he said. "Erythritol has been linkedopens in a new tab or window to increased platelet reactivity, thrombosis potential, and impaired endothelial nitric oxide production," Holland pointed out.
"These vascular effects raise serious concerns for brain health given that cerebrovascular disease underlies many dementias and nitric oxide plays a critical role in maintaining cerebral perfusion," he added. "In addition, elevated oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, possibly triggered by low- and no-calorie sweetener metabolites, represent proposed mechanisms that align with known pathways of cognitive impairment."
Suemoto and colleagues studied 12,772 civil servants ages 35 and up enrolled in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasilopens in a new tab or window), following them for a median of 8 years. Cognitive performance was assessed every 4 years.
Mean baseline age was 52. About half (54.8%) of the study group were women, and 43.2% were Black or mixed race. Food frequency questionnaires were used to calculate combined and individual intake of seven low- and no-calorie sweeteners.
Participants were grouped into tertiles based on their low- and no-calorie sweetener consumption. The lowest tertile consumed an average of 19.9 mg/day; the highest group consumed an average of 191.0 mg/day. Sorbitol had the highest consumption, with an average of 63.8 mg/day.
The study relied on food frequency questionnaires, and the possibility of misreporting bias cannot be ruled out, the researchers acknowledged. Food consumption was measured only once, at baseline. Some sweeteners, like sucralose, were not included.
Many covariates in this analysis were self-reported, Suemoto and co-authors added. While regression models were adjusted for several clinical and lifestyle variables, residual confounding may have occurred.
This study had no targeted funding.
Suemoto and co-authors had no relevant disclosures.
Holland had no disclosures.
많아봐야 몸무게 몇백그램밖에 안되는 쥐한테 다이어트 콜라 한캔 분량을 매일 먹여놓곸ㅋ 대조군에 왜 설탕은 안들어가 있는지 궁금하네요. 아마 설탕 27~30g을 매일 먹였으면 뇌 노화가 오기 전에 당뇨로 죽었을 겁니다. 제당회사의 로비가 이렇게 활발합니다 여러분.
설탕이 왜 비교군에 없는지...