Daily Sugary Drink Consumption Linked to Over Twice the Stomach Cancer Risk: Study - Video

Drinking sugary beverages every day may be linked to a higher risk of gastric cancer, according to a long-term study from the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute.

Published in Gastro Hep Advances, the study analysed data from 112,284 participants in the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. These studies collected detailed information about diet, lifestyle and health over several decades. During follow-up, 278 participants developed gastric cancer.

Researchers found that people who consumed at least one serving of sugar-sweetened beverages each day had 2.45 times the risk of developing gastric cancer compared with those who drank less than one serving per month. The association was seen in both men and women.

Among women in the Nurses' Health Study, drinking more than one sugar-sweetened beverage daily was associated with a 3.04-fold higher risk compared with women who rarely consumed these drinks. Higher fructose intake, a major source of sugar in these beverages, was also associated with a greater incidence of gastric cancer.

The researchers included carbonated drinks, punch, lemonade and sports drinks among sugar-sweetened beverages. In contrast, artificially sweetened, low-calorie carbonated drinks were not associated with a higher risk of gastric cancer after accounting for other factors.

Researchers also examined whether Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a bacterium known to increase gastric cancer risk, could explain the findings.

The researchers stressed that the findings do not prove sugary drinks cause gastric cancer. The study was observational, and factors such as family history and incomplete H. pylori information may have influenced the results. Most participants were also white, limiting how widely the findings can be applied.

Further studies are needed to confirm the association and understand how sugary drinks might influence gastric cancer risk.

REFERENCE: Tae-Geun Gweon, Jane Ha, Hanseul Kim, Mengxi Du, Mingyang Song, Andrew T. Chan. Association Between Sugar-Sweetened and Artificially Sweetened Beverage Intake and Gastric Cancer Incidence. Gastro Hep Advances, 2026; 5 (11): 101097 DOI: 10.1016/j.gastha.2026.101097