On August 17, in a study published in the journal “Gastro Hep Advances,” scientists at the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute found that consuming at least one sugar-sweetened beverage per day more than doubles the risk of stomach cancer compared to those who rarely consume such drinks. The findings are based on decades of data from more than 100,000 people.
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According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 63% of adults aged 18 and older in the US reported drinking sugar-sweetened beverages at least once a day. In this study, sugar-sweetened beverages included regular sodas, energy drinks, and juices, according to “USA Today.”
“This is the first study to show an association between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and stomach cancer in the US population. Stomach cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death worldwide, but we knew very little about how diet might contribute to this type of cancer,” said senior study author Dr. Andrew T. Chan, a gastroenterologist and epidemiologist at the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, in a press release.
The authors add that previous studies have already identified associations between similar drinks and other types of cancer, including colorectal, breast, and liver cancer.
Stomach cancer can develop in any part of the stomach, and advanced disease, according to the Mayo Clinic, is harder to treat. Artificially sweetened beverages—defined in this study as low-calorie sodas—were not associated with an increased risk of stomach cancer.
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However, this does not mean that diet soft drinks carry no risk at all. For example, aspartame—one of the most commonly used artificial sweeteners—was previously classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a possible carcinogen. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that aspartame is safe to consume within the acceptable daily intake.
The authors also noted study limitations: limited information on some participants’ health and family history, and that the group was mostly composed of white individuals aged 30–75, so associations in specific racial and ethnic groups or among younger adults could not be examined.
While weight gain, insulin resistance, inflammation, and other proposed mechanisms may explain the effect of sugar-sweetened beverages on cancer risk, the authors state that further research is needed to confirm the biological basis of this association.
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