2 weeks ago
Daily sugary drink tied to gastric cancer risk, US study
Scientists studied lots of people to learn about stomach cancer, which is a serious sickness in the tummy.
They wanted to know if drinking sugary drinks like soda, punch, lemonade, and sports drinks could be connected to it.
They found that people who drank at least one sugary drink every day were about two and a half times more likely to get stomach cancer.
This was the first time this link was found in people living in the United States.
Drinks with fake sugar, like diet drinks, did not seem to have the same risk.
Scientists are not sure exactly why sugary drinks might be harmful.
It could be because of weight gain, changes in the body, or damage to DNA, but they need more research.
The study does not prove that sugary drinks cause stomach cancer all by themselves.
It just shows there might be a connection.
So it is a good idea to drink sugary drinks only sometimes.
Researchers at Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute analyzed data from 68,311 women and 42,973 men in two long-running US health studies.
People who consumed at least one sugar-sweetened drink per day had a nearly 2.45 times higher risk of gastric cancer than those who drank less than one per month.
The study, published 17 August in Gastro Hep Advances, identified 278 gastric cancer cases among participants.
Sugar-sweetened drinks were defined as carbonated beverages, punch, lemonade, and sports drinks; artificially sweetened drinks showed no similar association.
Authors caution the observational study does not establish causation and note most participants were white, with limited data on family history and earlier endoscopies.
- Who
- Researchers at the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, led by senior author Andrew T Chan, who analyzed participants from the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
- What
- Consuming at least one sugar-sweetened drink daily was associated with a nearly 2.45 times higher risk of developing gastric cancer.
- Where
- United States - the study analyzed a US population across two long-running health studies.
- When
- The study was published on 17 August in the journal Gastro Hep Advances.
- Why
- Researchers suspect sugary drinks may contribute to gastric cancer through weight gain, insulin resistance, inflammation, DNA damage, or gut microbiome changes, though causation was not proven.
Key facts
- Study publication
- 17 August in Gastro Hep Advances
- Institution
- Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute
- Senior author
- Andrew T Chan
- Participants
- 68,311 women and 42,973 men
- Gastric cancer cases
- 278
- Daily sugary drink risk
- Nearly 2.45 times higher than less than one per month
- Sugary drinks definition
- Carbonated beverages, punch, lemonade, sports drinks
- Study design
- Observational cohort, no causation established
Quotes
Researchers at the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute
Lead researchers of the study
““This is the first study to demonstrate an association between sugar-sweetened beverage intake and gastric cancer in a U.S. population.””
theprint.in
““People who consume at least one sugar-sweetened drink every day have a larger risk of developing gastric cancer.””
theprint.in
