Could Regularly Drinking Sugar-Sweetened Soda Be Linked to Breast Cancer Mortality?
Posted: Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Patients with breast cancer who regularly drink sugar-sweetened soda may be at increased risk of death from all causes, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Specifically, women who reported drinking non-diet soda more than five times a week were 62% more likely to die of any reason than women who had never or rarely drank non-diet soda.
“While we need more studies to confirm our findings, this study provides evidence that diet may impact longevity of women after breast cancer,” said study author Jo L. Freudenheim, PhD, of the University at Buffalo, and colleagues in an institutional news story.
A total of 927 women with breast cancer from The Western New York Exposures and Breast Cancer Study were the focus of the analysis. All participants were diagnosed with at least stage I disease and did not have diabetes.
The authors reported that 386 of the 927 women (41.5%) had died, with 153 (39.6%) being the result of breast cancer by the end of follow-up. Follow-up ranged from 8.9 to 262 months, with a median overall survival of 224 months. The study demonstrated an association between consuming sugar-sweetened soda more than five times per week and both total (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.62, P trend < .01) and breast cancer mortality (HR = 1.85, P trend < .01).
When the researchers stratified the analysis by estrogen receptor status, they revealed that patients with estrogen receptor–positive tumors had a greater risk for both total (HR = 1.65, P trend = .02) and breast cancer mortality (HR = 2.41, P trend < .01). Furthermore, sugar-sweetened soda consumption also posed a risk for women who were above the body mass index median for both total (HR = 1.87, P trend < .01) and breast cancer mortality (HR = 2.02, P trend = .03).
Disclosure: The study authors reported no conflicts of interest.
