Artificially Sweetened and Sugary Drinks Linked to Increased Liver Disease Risk

A new study reveals that both sugar-sweetened beverages and low- or non-sugar-sweetened beverages are significantly associated with a higher risk of developing metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and liver-related mortality. The research, presented at UEG Week 2025, followed 123,788 UK Biobank participants and found that a higher intake of both types of beverages increased the risk of developing MASLD by 60% for LNSSBs and 50% for SSBs.

Key Takeaways:

A higher intake of both low- or non-sugar-sweetened beverages (LNSSBs) and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) was associated with a 60% and 50% elevated risk of developing MASLD, respectively.
The study found that LNSSBs were linked to a higher risk of liver-related mortality, while SSBs were not significantly associated with this outcome.
Both LNSSBs and SSBs were positively associated with higher liver fat content.
The researchers suggest that limiting both SSBs and LNSSBs as part of a comprehensive prevention strategy is necessary to target not only liver disease but also cardio-renal-metabolic health.
Replacing either beverage with water significantly reduced MASLD risk by 12.8% for SSBs and 15.2% for LNSSBs.

Statistics:

123,788 participants were followed in the study.
1,178 participants developed MASLD over the median 10.3-year follow-up period.
108 participants died from liver-related causes.
The study found that LNSSBs were linked to a higher risk of liver-related mortality.
Replacing LNSSBs with water reduced MASLD risk by 15.2%.

Sources:

VerticalNews on October 26, 2025
VerticalNews Health & Science on October 26, 2025
UEG Week 2025 on October 7, 2025
UK Biobank on [no date specified]