Sugary Drinks Linked to Stomach Cancer

A large U.S. study published in the journal Gastro Hep Advances found that daily consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with a more than doubled risk of stomach (gastric) cancer. Researchers from the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute analyzed data from 112,284 participants in the Nurses Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, identifying 278 cases of gastric cancer over decades of follow-up. After adjusting for other risk factors, those who drank at least one sugary beverage per day had a 2.45 times higher risk compared to those who drank less than one per month. The association was stronger in women, with a 3.04 times higher risk. Higher fructose intake was also linked to increased risk. In contrast, artificially sweetened drinks showed no significant association. The study is observational and cannot prove causation, and the authors note limitations including a predominantly white participant pool and limited data on H. pylori infection and family history. The findings add stomach cancer to the list of cancers previously linked to sugary drinks, including colorectal, breast, and liver cancer. Senior author Andrew T. Chan emphasized that this is the first study to demonstrate such an association in a U.S. population.