New Delhi: People who consume at least one sugar-sweetened drink every day have a larger risk of developing gastric cancer, found researchers at the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute.
The study, titled “Association between sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverage intake and gastric cancer incidence”, was published on 17 August in the journal Gastro Hep Advances. Researchers analysed data from 68,311 women and 42,973 men part of the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. They followed the participants for decades to collect their dietary information through questionnaires every four years.
“This is the first study to demonstrate an association between sugar-sweetened beverage intake and gastric cancer in a U.S. population. Gastric cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death worldwide, but we’ve known very little about how diet might contribute to this cancer,” said senior author and gastroenterologist Andrew T Chan, in a press release.
The study found that there were 278 cases of gastric cancer among the participants. Those who consumed at least one sugar-sweetened drink per day had a nearly 2.45 times higher risk of developing cancer than those who consumed less than one sugary drink per month.
Researchers defined sugar-sweetened drinks as carbonated beverages, punch, lemonade, and sports drinks. In contrast, artificially sweetened drinks or low-calorie carbonated drinks did not have the same impact on a person’s likelihood to develop gastric cancer.
However, it is important to note that the study does not explain exactly how sugary drinks are likely to lead to gastric cancer. They suspect it might be through weight gain, insulin resistance, inflammation, DNA damage, or changes in the gut microbiome, but further research is needed to confirm these.
Although previous research has linked sugary drinks to colorectal, breast, and liver cancers, the evidence for gastric cancer was so far inconsistent. The study’s authors say that their research demonstrates this association for the first time.
Researchers also highlight that this is only an observational cohort study and does not claim to establish any causation. They added that most participants were white and researchers had limited information on their family history, tumors, and earlier endoscopies.