Postmenopausal women who drank sugar-sweetened beverages were more likely to a common endometrial cancer than those who abstained.
Women who fell into the top percentile of sweet beverage consumption had a 78 percent increased risk of developing estrogen-dependent type I endometrial cancer "(the most common type of this disease"), an American Association for Cancer Research news release reported.
The study is the first-ever to find a link between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and endometrial cancer.
"Although ours is the first study to show this relationship, it is not surprising to see that women who drank more sugar-sweetened beverages had a higher risk of estrogen-dependent type I endometrial cancer but not estrogen-independent type II endometrial cancer," Maki Inoue-Choi, Ph.D., M.S., R.D., who led this study as a research associate in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health news release, reported. "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."
The researcher looked at medical data from 23,039 postmenopausal women who reported their dietary intake and other risk factors in 1986 for the Iowa Women's Health Study.
The women reported their intake of: Coke® and Pepsi® and other non-diet colas; caffeine-free Coke®, Pepsi® or other non-diet colas; other carbonated beverages containing sugar; and noncarbonated fruit drinks.
Women were classified in different quintiles based on the amount of sugary drinks they consumed 1.7 servings per week being the lowest and 60.5 the highest.
"Research has documented the contribution of sugar-sweetened beverages to the obesity epidemic," Inoue-Choi said. "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."
