Study shows that soft drinks increase menstrual pain

New research suggests that carbonated soft drinks may increase the severity of menstrual pain, while moderate coffee consumption offers a surprising protective effect against severe dysmenorrhea.

Study: The association between soft drink consumption and primary dysmenorrhea in Chinese undergraduate female studentsImage Credit: Kmpzzz / Shutterstock.com

A study recently published Scientific Reports The potential role of soft drink consumption on the development of primary dysmenorrhea (PD) in Chinese women has been investigated.

What is PD?

PD, one of the most common painful conditions affecting women worldwide, causes affected individuals to experience pain during menstruation without pelvic disease. Current estimates suggest that 45–95% of female graduate students worldwide suffer from PD, including 40% of young Chinese graduate students.

The cramping lower abdominal pain associated with PD can negatively impact a person's quality of life, lead to lost work hours, and increased healthcare costs. In the United States, PD is responsible for a loss of 600 million work hours, with an economic cost of two billion US dollars (USD). Similarly, in Japan, total healthcare costs for patients with PD may be 2.2 times greater than those incurred by women without PD.

Previous research has shown that women who consume one or more soft drinks per day have a seven-fold higher rate of PD than non-consumers. Soft drinks are carbonated beverages that contain an average of 100 grams of sugar per liter. Soft drink consumption has been rising steadily over the past few decades, especially among children and adolescents.

Soda and coffee are both traditionally Western beverages that have become very popular in China, where the population has historically consumed green tea. The caffeine content in coffee has a stimulating effect on the human nervous system, which can affect physical stamina, cognitive function, and mental health conditions such as anxiety.

Prevalence of PD in soft drink and coffee drinkers

The current cross-sectional study was conducted between September 29, 2020, and October 22, 2020. The study group included 1,809 female graduates with an average age of 19.7 years, of whom 906 lived in rural areas.

A total of 852 participants were diagnosed with PD, of which 25.9% reported severe PD. 24.4% and 49.6% reported mild and moderate PD. The incidence of PD was also related to menstrual flow and cycle.

About 51% of study participants with PD reported consuming soft drinks, compared to 48.8% of participants without PD. In comparison, 44.8% and 55% of PD and non-PD study participants, respectively, consumed coffee.

Soft drink consumers had a 24% higher risk of PD. In fact, the association between soft drink consumption and PD severity was dose dependent, with milder PD associated with weekly or less frequent soft drink consumption. In contrast, increased pain severity was associated with higher frequency of consumption.

Among rural participants with PD, the odds of consuming soft drinks were 40% higher than those consuming other beverages. Overall, carbonated soft drink consumption was associated with more severe PD.

Coffee drinkers were 55% less likely to have moderate to severe PD; however, this association was not dose-dependent. More research is needed to explore the possible mechanisms involved in the association between coffee consumption and PD.

How do soft drinks contribute to PD?

The high amount of sugar in soft drinks can cause nutritional disturbances due to decreased vitamin/mineral absorption and processing, which can negatively impact muscle function and ultimately lead to the painful spasms associated with PD.

Higher prostaglandins (PGs) in the endometrium of women with PD may also contribute to the association between soft drink consumption and PD incidence, as PG levels are twice as high in women with PD than in those without.

PGs can be synthesized from metabolic substrates derived from dietary sugars. These compounds activate uterine contractions, which constrict blood vessels and release pain-producing anaerobic metabolites.

High sugar intake may also increase cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone; therefore, high cortisol levels may reflect irregular stress responses that cause PD among sugar-sweetened soft drink consumers. Despite these hypotheses, more research is needed to clarify the exact mechanisms involved in this relationship.

conclusion

Carbonated soft drink consumption appears to be a risk factor for PD, especially among rural women, while coffee consumption was protective against severe PD. Therefore, it is important to educate young women about the adverse effects of excessive soft drink consumption, while moderate coffee drinking may reduce the severity of PD.