Cardiovascular Effects of Sucrose in Experimental Animals and Humans.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing animal models and human literature.
PubMed 40874661 · doi:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.125.25720
What was done
This narrative review synthesized experimental animal models (rats and mice) and human epidemiological/clinical literature examining the cardiovascular and metabolic effects of dietary sucrose intake, including blood pressure changes, insulin dynamics, gut microbiota alterations, and systemic inflammation.
What was found
In high-sucrose-fed rats, reported outcomes included weight gain, insulin resistance, systemic inflammation, gut microbiota disruption, and an approximate 15-mm Hg elevation in blood pressure. In mice, high-sucrose ingestion via drinking water induced hyperinsulinemia-associated hypertension and cardiovascular complications. In humans, excessive sucrose intake was associated with elevated plasma glucose, insulin, and lipid levels (particularly in individuals with obesity), and increased hypertension risk in women in a cited epidemiological study. Exact human effect sizes, sample sizes, and confidence intervals were not provided in the abstract.
Why it matters
It highlights that intact sucrose consumption—not merely isolated fructose or glucose—directly drives adverse blood pressure and metabolic changes in preclinical models, supporting public health recommendations to reduce excessive sugar intake.
Limits
The paper is an unsystematic narrative review, precluding quantitative meta-analytic pooling. Long-term human epidemiological evidence remains limited, and key mechanistic and blood pressure magnitude data derive primarily from rodent models rather than controlled human trials.
Cited by
- supports Sucrose is a disaccharide composed of two joined sugar molecules: glucose and fructose.