Written by Chrystal Moulton, Staff Writer. In this large study of over 40,000 women, those with the highest intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages (more than 60.5 servings per week) had a 78% higher risk of endometrial cancer.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), approximately 35,000 women in the United States get endometrial or uterine cancer. It is most common in women over 50 years old and ranks as the fourth most common cancer in the United States among women. There are two types of endometrial cancer: type I which is estrogen dependent and type II which is estrogen independent.(1) Women who are obese produce more estrogen naturally and are more predisposed to developing endometrial cancer. Increase in sugar intake and lack of physical activity is linked to much of the complications that come with obesity such as diabetes. And since it is already a fact that obesity is a major problem in the US, researchers are looking at the connection between sugar consumption and development of endometrial cancer.(1,2)
In an epidemiological study connected to the Iowa Women’s health Study, (2) researchers wanted to assess whether consuming sugary beverages could be connected to development of endometrial cancer. Questionnaires were mailed to women aged 55 to 69 years old who were randomly selected from the Iowa driver’s license list. The questionnaire assessed demographic, height, weight, waist and hip measurements, reproductive and lifestyle factors, family history of cancer, medical history, and diet. Women who completed and returned the questionnaire were considered as a subject consenting to participate in the study. Women were excluded if they were not postmenopausal, had a history of cancer (except melanoma), hysterectomy, extreme dietary intake, or had incomplete food frequency questionnaires.
At baseline, dietary intake was determined by using the Harvard Food Frequency Questionnaire, which assessed study participants intake of 127 food items during the past 12 months including regular Coca Cola products, sugar free and caffeine-free soft drinks, other sodas, non-carbonated drinks, as well as sugary breads and pastries. Nutrient intakes were calculated by multiplying the frequency of food item consumed by the proportion of each nutrient present in the food. Sugary drink consumption patterns were categorized into quintiles with zero servings/week as the lowest quintile and 60.5 servings/week as the highest. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated from self-reported weight and height measurements. Waist to hip ratio was also determined at baseline along with level of physical activity. Incidence of cancer was checked every year through state of Iowa Health Registry part of the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results program. For each incident, information on the date of diagnosis, type, and stage of cancer was collected. Person years were assigned to each individual participant from the date they return the initial questionnaire (baseline) to the date of endometrial cancer diagnosis, hysterectomy, emigration from Iowa, death, or until December 31, 2010, whichever came first. Data was significant if p<0.05.
A total of 41,836 women returned the questionnaire. After initial exclusions at baseline, researchers also excluded women who were diagnosed with endometrial cancer in situ and sarcoma during follow up giving a grand total of 23,039 women whose data were eligible for analysis in the study. In 2010 at the end of the study, 506 women were diagnosed with endometrial type I cancer and 89 women with type II. Researchers observed an increased risk of endometrial cancer with increased consumption of sugar sweetened beverages (p=0.0005). They also observed a 78% higher risk in occurrence of endometrial cancer type I (95 % confidence intervals (CI), 1.32–2.40) in the highest quintile of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption (>60.5 servings/week). These results did not change after adjusting for BMI, smoking, physical activity, or history of diabetes. Furthermore, higher intake of sugar was directly associated with an increase in type I endometrial cancer. No associations were found between sugar consumption and type II endometrial cancer.
Source: Inoue-Choi, Maki, et al. “Sugar-sweetened beverage intake and the risk of type I and type II endometrial cancer among postmenopausal women.” Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Biomarkers (2013).
© 2013 AACR
Posted December 23, 2013.
Chrystal Moulton BA, PMP, is a 2008 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. She graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology with a focus on premedical studies and is a licensed project manager. She currently resides in Indianapolis, IN.
References:
- Uterine Cancer Fact Sheet. Center for Disease Control. Accessed December 17, 2013.
- Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake and the Risk of Type I and Type II Endometrial Cancer among Postmenopausal Women. Inoue-Choi M, et al. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2013 Dec;22(12):2384-94.
