People who drink lots of soda and other sugary drinks may have a higher risk of developing gallbladder cancer and diseases on bile ducts around the liver, a Swedish study says.
Although little is known about the actual causes of biliary tract and gallbladder tumors, emerging evidence suggests obesity as well as high blood sugar levels, which are indicators of diabetes, may increase the risk of these malignancies.
Since sodas and other sugary beverages have been linked to high blood sugar and weight gain, researchers headed by author Susanna Larsson of Karolinska Institute in Sweden wondered if these beverages might play a role in these types of cancer.
To explore this possibility, researchers analyzed survey data on the eating and drinking habits of more than 70,000 adults for 13 years on average to see whether cancers got diagnosed.
Only about 150 people developed biliary tract or gallbladder cancers during the study period. However, compared with people who avoided sugar-sweetened drinks altogether, individuals who consumed two or more juice drinks or sodas a day had more than twice the risk of developing gallbladder tumors and 79 percent higher odds of getting biliary tract cancer, the study found.
"Soda consumption has been inconsistently associated with risk of biliary tract cancer (only one prior study) and other cancers in previous similar studies," Larsson said.
Larsson pointed out that the current study "is the first study to show a strong link between consumption of sweetened beverages, such as soda, and risk of biliary tract cancer."
At the onset of the study, participants completed food and drink questionnaires asking how many sodas or juice drinks they had consumed in the past week and how many they typically consumed during the previous year.
Participants, who answered the first set of questions in 1997, were 61 years old on average. About half of them were overweight and roughly 25 percent were smokers.
The people who drank two or more sodas or sugary beverages a day were more likely to be overweight and eat a higher-calorie diet with more sugar and carbohydrates and less protein and fat.
Dr. Margo Denke, a former researcher at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, said "this study suggests that there is more than a plausible link; the incidence of biliary and gall bladder cancer was higher among individuals who consumed more sodas and juices."
The exact reasons for the connection between sodas and these tumors may be unclear, but the message for consumers is still simple, said Dr. Igor Astsaturov, a medical oncologist at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.
"Obviously, this finding signals again and again that healthy lifestyle is the key to cancer-free life," Astsaturov said. "Regardless of the cause, it is easy enough to quench the thirst with water to stay fit and healthy."
Photo: Citizen TV
Source: NBC News | Reuters
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