This Habit Could More Than Double Your Stomach Cancer Risk, New Study Says

Key Points:

• A large U.S. study found that drinking at least one sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) daily is associated with a 2.45 times higher risk of stomach cancer compared to rarely drinking these beverages, with risks about three times higher in women and nearly double in men.
• The study analyzed data from over 112,000 participants in the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study, tracking diet and health over decades and adjusting for other risk factors like red and processed meat intake.
• Artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) showed no link to stomach cancer risk, and the association with SSBs was independent of H. pylori infection, a known stomach cancer risk factor.
• Limitations include the observational design, a predominantly white and older participant pool, a relatively small number of stomach cancer cases (278), and incomplete data on some risk factors, warranting further research.
• While the study does not prove causation, reducing sugar-sweetened beverage intake is recommended as a reasonable step for overall health and may help lower stomach cancer risk.