ESC: Artificial Sweetener Linked to Increased Risk for Major Cardiovascular Events

TUESDAY, Sept. 1, 2026 (HealthDay News) — The artificial sweetener xylitol is independently associated with the incident risk for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in the general population, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology, held from Aug. 28 to 31 in Munich.

T.M. Zheng, from McGill University in Montreal, and colleagues examined the association between xylitol and cardiovascular event risk in the general population. The analysis included data from two prospective observational studies across both North America and Europe (Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging [CLSA]: 7,651 participants; the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer [EPIC]-Norfolk: 10,059 participants).

The researchers found that during six  years of follow-up for CLSA and 30 years for EPIC­-Norfolk, a total of 2,950 major adverse cardiovascular events occurred in CLSA and 5,670 occurred in EPIC-­Norfolk. Circulating xylitol levels were associated with incident MACE risk, independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors (CLSA: Q4 versus Q1; adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.47; EPIC-Norfolk: aHR, 1.18). In both cohorts, there was a consistent significant increase in MACE risk across different subpopulations, irrespective of baseline characteristics and preexisting cardiometabolic factors.

“In previous studies, we showed that xylitol can enhance the ability of platelets to form clots,” coauthor Marco Witkowski, M.D., Ph.D., from the Charité University Hospital in Berlin, said in a statement. “Our long-term findings in the general population highlight how little we know about the cardiovascular safety of xylitol and indicate that further studies are warranted, especially as the amount of xylitol in products continues to increase.”

Press Release

More Information