Sweet carcinogens
Over the past decades, the consumption of sugary drinks around the world has increased significantly. It has been proven that one of the consequences of this is obesity, which, in turn, is a risk factor for many types of cancer. However, there are still few studies on the correlation of cancer risk with sugary drinks.
A group of researchers from France decided to evaluate the relationship between the consumption of sugary drinks (sugar-sweetened beverages, 100% fruit juices, diet drinks) and the risk of cancer, including breast, prostate and bowel cancer.
The NutriNet-Santé study involved 101,257 healthy people (21% men, 79% women, the average age at the time of inclusion in the cohort study was 42 years). Participants filled out at least two questionnaires online, in which they answered questions about their nutrition during the day. They were monitored for nine years (2009-2018).
The researchers focused on the daily consumption of sugary drinks (sugar-containing beverages, natural fruit juices, artificially sweetened (dietary) drinks). Information was also collected about cancer cases reported by the participants themselves, and then the data was confirmed by records in medical documents.
Several well-known cancer risk factors were taken into account, such as age, gender, education level, heredity, bad habits and physical activity level.
The average daily consumption of sugary drinks was higher in men than in women (90.3 ml and 74.6 ml, respectively). During the follow–up, 2,193 cases of newly diagnosed cancer were identified and confirmed (693 cases of breast cancer, 291 cases of prostate cancer and 166 cases of colorectal cancer). The average age of cancer detection was 59 years.
Data analysis showed that an increase in the consumption of sugary drinks by 100 ml per day increased the risk of any type of cancer by 18% and breast cancer by 22%.
Consumption of fruit juices and other sugary drinks was equally associated with a higher risk of any type of cancer, with the exception of prostate cancer and colorectal cancer, but the number of cases of these diseases was insufficient for full conclusions.
The consumption of artificially sweetened (dietary) drinks was not associated with the risk of cancer, but the authors write that one should be careful about this conclusion due to the relatively low number of consumers of such drinks in this sample.
A possible correlation observed in the study is related to the effect of sugar contained in sugary drinks on visceral fat (located around internal organs, including the liver and pancreas), as well as on blood glucose levels and markers of inflammation that increase the risk of cancer.
Other chemical compounds, such as food additives in some carbonated beverages, may also have an impact on cancer risk.
The study has a number of drawbacks. First of all, this is its design: an observational study does not allow us to establish the causes of the correlation. The authors do not exclude the not entirely accurate classification of drinks and allow the inclusion in the analysis of not all cases of newly diagnosed cancer.
Nevertheless, the cohort was quite large, and many potentially significant factors were taken into account. For sure conclusions, it is necessary to confirm the results in other large studies.
Despite the caution of the authors of the study, the data obtained confirm the growing number of evidence-based arguments about the need to limit the consumption of sugary drinks in order to reduce the incidence of cancer.
Article by E. Chazelas et al. Sugary drink consumption and risk of cancer: results from NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort published in BMJ.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on BMJ materials: Study suggests possible link between sugary drinks and cancer.