Study Ties Sugar Sweetened Beverage Consumption to Elevated Endometrial Cancer Risk

The ill effect of sugar sweetened beverages in postmenopausal women was uncovered in a latest study.  Researchers found that high intake of sugary drinks to be associated with increased risk of endometrial cancer.

The study reported in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention states that postmenopausal women who had the highest consumption of sugar sweetened beverage suffer a high risk of endometrial cancer. Intake of sugar sweetened beverages elevates the risk for estrogen-dependant type 1 endometrial cancer, which is one of the most common types of disease. Higher the intake of sugary drinks, higher is the risk of cancer.

This is the first study that highlights the association of sugar sweetened beverage and estrogen-dependent type I endometrial cancer.

Endometrial cancer is the type of cancer that starts forming in the uterus lining. In the year 2013 8,190 women in U.S. died due to this cancer. Endometrial cancer is also called as the uterine cancer and is often detected at the early stage as it causes vaginal bleeding.

Maki Inoue-Choi, Ph.D., lead author of the study said, "Other studies have shown increasing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has paralleled the increase in obesity. Obese women tend to have higher levels of estrogens and insulin than women of normal weight. Increased levels of estrogens and insulin are established risk factors for endometrial cancer."

For this study the researchers worked on the data taken from Iowa Women's Health Study that included 23,039 postmenopausal women. The participants reported about their regular dietary intake, demographic details, and medical history before the diagnosis of cancer i.e. 1986.

The researchers using Harvard Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) assessed the participant's dietary intake. The participants were asked to report the intake frequency of 127 food items in the first 12 months. In order to render a sense of scale a portion size of each food item was given to the participants, according to the news release.

The questionnaire had four questions that enquired about the intake frequency of sugar sweetened beverages:

1.       Pepsi, Coke-with sugar

2.       Caffeine-free coke and other colas with added sugar

3.       Carbonated beverages with sugar

4.       Hawaiin Punch, lemonade and other noncarbonated fruit drinks.

Sugar free soft drinks included low calorie caffeinated and caffeine free cola as well as low calorie carbonated beverages.

In the FFQ, the sweet and baked goods category had 13 items that included bars, candy, cookies chocolate, brownie, doughnut, cakes, pastries, coffeecakes, sweet rolls and pies.

The consumption of sugar sweetened beverage pattern was categorized into quintiles. This varied from nil intakes to 1.7-60.5 servings a week.

Among the participants studied, nearly 506 women had type I and 89 type II endometrial cancers between 1986 and 2010. But there was no link present between type I or type II endometrial cancers and intake of sugar-free soft drinks, sweets-baked goods, and starch.

Inoue-Choi concluded, "Research has documented the contribution of sugar-sweetened beverages to the obesity epidemic. Too much added sugar can boost a person's overall calorie intake and may increase the risk of health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer."