Association Between Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and 100% Fruit Juice With Poor Mental Health Among US Adults in 11 US States and the District of Columbia

Abstract

Introduction Excess sugar consumption is linked to several mental health con-ditions. Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and 100% fruit juice contain similar amounts of sugar per serving, yet prior studies ex-amining sugary beverages and mental health are limited to SSBs. Of those, few have assessed potential modifiers such as sex. Methods We examined the association between daily consumption of fruit juice and SSBs with poor mental health by using data from the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. We used Pois-son regression models with clustered-robust standard errors to measure the association between SSB and fruit juice consumption (none, >0 to <1, and ≥1 times per day) and experiencing 14 or more days of poor mental health in the past month, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. We used an F test of joint signi-ficance to assess effect modification by sex for SSB and fruit juice analyses. Results Consuming SSBs 1 or more times per day versus consuming none was associated with a 26% greater prevalence of poor mental health (95% CI, 1.11–1.43). Associations for consuming >0 to <1 times per day compared with consuming none were not signific-ant. We found no evidence of an association between fruit juice consumption and mental health, nor evidence of effect modifica-tion by sex in the SSB and fruit juice analyses. Conclusion Consuming SSBs 1 or more times per day was significantly asso-ciated with poor mental health whereas 100% fruit juice consump-tion was not. Future studies should examine alternative cut-points of fruit juice by using prospective designs.