A study from the journal, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention is claiming that postmenopausal women who drink sugar-sweetened beverages are more likely to develop the most common type of endometrial cancer compared to women who didn’t drink such products.
This study examined the dietary behaviour of 23K women, their medical background and pertinent demographic data in 1986 as part of the Iowa Women’s Health Study. The information was taken from women prior to cancer diagnosis, and the time period of the study goes up to 2010. Dietary intake was monitored using the established Harvard Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) which asks participants to record diet on 127 different foodstuffs in the previous 12 months. Portion sizes are provided to each participant to give a sense of scale.
The paper focusses on commonly available beverages sweetened with sugar and includes Coke, Pepsi, caffeine-free variants, and a variety of other carbonated beverages. Also included are sugar-free and low-calorie variants. The drinks were categorised into a number of servings.
One particular claim made was that postmenopausal women who claimed to drink the most sugar-sweetened beverages had a 78% increased risk for oestrogen-dependent type 1 endometrial cancer. This was claimed to be dose-dependent. It has to be borne in mind that during menopause and into the post-menopausal condition, that there are a number of risk factors such as changes in hormone levels, age, genetic and environmental factors which also impact on cancer incidence. The study remains one of the only types so far to show association and needs replication along with improvements to how inferences should be drawn from measurements made at the beginning of the study and projected over 12 years.
The American Beverage Association has also issued a news release which states the paper shows no causal relationship whatsoever and contradicts other studies that show no association between sugary beverages and the risk of endometrial cancer. Their article provides other useful facets on the research. Such findings always demand considerable scrutiny otherwise there is great negativity generated towards sugar laden drinks which serve a nutritional benefit.
Reference:
American Beverage Association ((2013) Study on Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Endometrial Cancer Risk Does Not Show Causality. http://www.ameribev.org/news-media/news-releases-statements/more/318/November 22, (link no longer available) 2013
Inoue-Choi, M., Robien, K., Mariani, A., Cerhan, J.R., Anderson, K.E. (2013) Sugar-sweetened Beverage Intake and the Risk of Type I and Type II Endometrial Cancer among Postmenopausal Women. Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-13-0636
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