Sugar Uptake Styles and Their Alliance with Health Facets Among the Indian Population: A Systematic Review

 Sugar  is  considered  as  a  double  edged  sword,  associated  with  many  metabolic  effects.  Studies depicting  the relationship between sugars and their harmful effects on health in the context of the Indian  population are fewer. The aim of  this study was to systematically review data on sugars and their metabolic disturbances, and to produce evidence in the context of the Indian population.

The research question was developed based on PICo strategy.  The search was limited to PubMed and EBSCO data bases over the period from 2005-2018, using advanced (Boolean) searching for attaining relevant articles. Articles with only substantial  evidence  were  included,  showing  a  relationship  between  sugars  and  their metabolic perturbations  which  were evaluated with their respective checklists.

 Pertaining to the inclusion criteria, 32 articles were retrieved, three were systematic reviews, 16 cross -sectional studies and 13 experimental trails. Regained articles were related to sugars and dental caries, sugars and obesity and serum lipids levels and  also  sugars  and  Type-2  Diabetes  (T2D)  mellitus.  The  cross-sectional  studies,  randomized, non-randomized  trials  and systematic reviews fulfilled 72.7%, 45.68%, 60.90% and 71% of corresponding checklist items respectively.

 This  review  suggests  that  carbohydrates  are  the  main  constituting  diet  and  consumption  assumes metabolic disturbances like hyperglycaemia, risk of T2D, insulin resistance syndrome, dyslipidaemia, increased triglyceride levels and as a leading risk factor for occurrence of caries.