Sugary Drinks May Double Stomach Cancer Risk

A new study suggests that daily consumption of sugary beverages could double the risk of developing stomach cancer, contrary to previous findings linking sweetened drinks to higher rates of colorectal, breast, and liver cancers. Andrew Chan, the study's author, emphasized that this is the first research to establish a connection between sugary beverage intake and gastric cancer in a US population.

The research involved 112,000 people over several decades, resulting in 278 stomach cancer cases. The risk was observed in both genders, with women consuming more than one sugary drink per day facing nearly three times the risk compared to those who rarely consumed them. However, artificially sweetened or low-calorie carbonated drinks did not increase the risk.

The study found no link between sugar-sweetened beverages and Helicobacter pylori infection, a known contributor to gastric cancer. Researchers cautioned that the study is observational and cannot definitively prove that sugary drinks directly cause stomach cancer. They also noted limitations in data regarding H. pylori infection status and family history of stomach cancer.