About 65% of U.S. adults report drinking at least one sugar-sweetened beverage each day. New research from the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute suggests that this common habit may be associated with a higher risk of gastric cancer.
The researchers found that people who consumed sugar-sweetened beverages every day were more likely to develop gastric cancer than those who rarely drank them. Artificially sweetened beverages, however, were not linked to an increased risk. The findings were published in the journal Gastro Hep Advances.
A Long-Term Look at Sugary Drinks and Cancer
Earlier research has connected sugar-sweetened beverages with higher risks of colorectal, breast, and liver cancers. Until now, however, relatively little was known about whether these drinks might also be associated with gastric cancer.
To investigate, researchers examined data from 112,284 participants enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. These long-running studies collected detailed information about participants' diets, lifestyles, and health over several decades. During the follow-up period, which also extended across decades, 278 participants developed gastric cancer.
