Drinking Soda May Double Pancreatic Cancer Risk
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Drinking just two or more sodas a week is enough to nearly double your risk of developing pancreatic cancer compared to people who do not drink soda, a new study finds.
The study, published in “Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention,” a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, followed 60,524 men and women for 14 years that were enrolled in the Singapore Chinese Health Study.
During the study period, 140 pancreatic cancer cases were recorded. Participants who drank two or more soft drinks a week (averaging five a week) had an 87 percent increased risk compared with individuals who did not drink soda.
Researchers also found that people who consume soft drinks, defined as primarily carbonated sugar-sweetened beverages, on a regular basis tend to participate in other behaviors that contribute to poor health, Mark Pereira, Ph.D., senior author on the study and associate professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, said in a statement.
Still, Pereira said the effect of these drinks on pancreatic cancer may be unique.
"The high levels of sugar in soft drinks may be increasing the level of insulin in the body, which we think contributes to pancreatic cancer cell growth,” said Pereira.
The study also looked at whether drinking juice had a similar effect on pancreatic cancer rates and found it did not.
Pancreatic cancer is rare, but one of the most deadly. Other risk factors for developing pancreatic cancer including smoking and alcohol use. Only 5 percent of people who are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer are alive five years later.
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