The regular consumption of sugary drinks by postmenopausal women may be linked to endometrial cancer, a recent large cohort study has revealed. The most commonly occurring type of endometrial cancer occurs almost 80% more often in postmenopausal women. This was increased by 78% in women who drank more than four servings of sugary drinks as compared to postmenopausal women who had no sugary drinks.
This has led researchers to conclude that oestrogen-dependent endometrial cancer and the consumption of at least four servings a week of sugary drinks were linked, in contrast with non-hormonal endometrial cancer where the cancer was not affected significantly by sugary drinks. These findings were reported in an article published online in Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention and co-authored by Maki Inoue-Choi PhD of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.
“We found that higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with higher risk of (oestrogen-dependent) type I endometrial cancer, regardless of body mass index, physical activity, a history of diabetes, and cigarette smoking,” the authors concluded. “Similarly higher risk of type I endometrial cancer was observed in relation to higher intake of sugars. The risk of (oestrogen-independent) type II endometrial cancer was not associated with intake levels of sugar-sweetened beverages and sugars.”
Obesity and the consumption of sugary drinks have also been proffered as an explanation for skyrocketing levels of obesity in the US and now across the world. This may also explain the linkage in other areas in the world where endometrial cancers and the consumption of sugary drinks co-exist and do so disproportionately in obese women. Developing nations have reported even higher indices of endometrial cancer Type I, reporting at least half of the women with cancer presenting with obesity. Those who were not obese were at a higher risk for obesity related complications including diabetes. According to the report,
“Current evidence provides biologic plausibility for sugar-sweetened drink consumption as a contributing factor in endometrial cancer, the authors noted in their introduction”.
The report further stated that in order to address the limitations in the study, “a longitudinal cohort study involving women 55 to 6 was done. At enrolment, each participant completed a detailed questionnaire about demographics, lifestyle factors, medical history, and dietary intake.”
The final analysis included 23,039 women who had a mean age of 61.6 at enrolment. At follow up, from 1986 to 2010, 592 women had diagnoses of invasive endometrial cancer, consisting of 506 type 1 (endometroid) cancers and 89 type II (nonendometroid) cancers.
The connection between sugary foods (as opposed to drinks) and endometrial cancer was not established, a fact that Dr Ronald Alvarez of the University of Alabama at Birmingham found puzzling, he said in an interview with Medpage Today. According to that report, sugar in beverages might also affect insulin and insulin growth factor, which could play a role in type I endometrial cancers.
“This is somewhat contradictory,” Alvarez said, “Is it the amount of sugar or the type of sugar that may differ between drinks and foods?
Factors associated with endometrial cancer early menarche, a higher BMI, higher waist-hip ratio, age, history of diabetes, delayed menopause and any oestrogen therapy.
