Associations of a Healthy Beverage Pattern with All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality among US Adults: A Nationwide Cohort Study

The article highlights the relationship between overall beverage consumption patterns and mortality risks in US adults. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2001–2019), researchers created a Healthy Beverage Score (HBS), awarding positive points to coffee, tea, and low-fat milk, and negative points to alcohol, fruit juice, sugar-sweetened, artificially sweetened, and whole-fat milk beverages. Over 15.5 years of follow-up with nearly 9,000 adults, higher HBS was linked to significantly reduced all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. The study concludes that promoting healthier beverage choices at the population level could be an effective public health strategy to prevent premature deaths.