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Sugary Beverage Consumption Linked to Increased Cancer Risk

In prospective cohort study, consuming 100 percent fruit juice also tied to increased cancer risk

THURSDAY, July 11, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Higher consumption of sugary drinks is associated with an increased risk for overall cancer and breast cancer, according to a study published online July 10 in The BMJ.

Eloi Chazelas, from the Sorbonne Paris Cité Epidemiology and Statistics Research Center, and colleagues conducted a population-based prospective cohort study involving 101,257 participants aged 18 years and older from the French NutriNet-Santé cohort (2009 to 2017). Repeated 24-hour dietary records were used to assess consumption of sugary drinks and artificially sweetened beverages. The prospective associations between beverage consumption and risk for overall, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer were examined.

The researchers observed a significant correlation for consumption of sugary drinks with risk for overall cancer (subdistribution hazard ratio for a 100-mL/day increase, 1.18) and for breast cancer (hazard ratio, 1.22). There was no correlation for artificially sweetened beverages with risk for cancer. Consumption of 100 percent fruit juice was significantly associated with the risk for overall cancer in specific subanalyses (hazard ratio, 1.12).

“These data support the relevance of existing nutritional recommendations to limit sugary drink consumption, including 100 percent fruit juice, as well as policy actions, such as taxation and marketing restrictions targeting sugary drinks, which might potentially contribute to the reduction of cancer incidence,” the authors write.

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