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In the United States, daily use of sugar-sweetened beverages is practiced by about 65% of adults. Liver cancer and mortality from liver disease are both possible outcomes of chronic liver disease, which is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally.
One of the first studies to examine the relationship between consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and artificially sweetened beverages and incidence of liver cancer and chronic liver disease mortality was led by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system.
Zhao is a postdoctoral researcher in the Channing Division and collaborates with senior author Xuehong Zhang, MBBS, ScD. Nearly 100,000 postmenopausal women from the extensive, prospective Women’s Health Initiative research participated in this observational investigation.
After three years, participants reported their typical intake of soft drinks, fruit drinks (excluding fruit juice), and artificially sweetened beverages. A median of more than 20 years of participant follow-up was conducted.
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Postmenopausal Women: Sugary Drinks and Liver Health
The National Death Index or medical records were used to confirm self-reported liver cancer incidence and deaths from chronic liver conditions such cirrhosis, fibrosis, or chronic hepatitis.
The final analysis comprised 98,786 postmenopausal women altogether.
Compared to women who drank less than three sugar-sweetened beverages per month, those 6.8% of women who regularly drank one or more sugar-sweetened beverages had an 85% higher risk of liver cancer and a 68% higher risk of dying from chronic liver disease.
The study was observational, the authors point out, and it relied on participants’ self-reported data on intake, sugar content, and outcomes.
More research is required to confirm this risk link and understand why sugary beverages seemed to raise the risk of liver cancer and illness. Additionally, more investigation is required to clarify the likely pathways by fusing genetics, preclinical and experimental studies, and -omics data.
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Source: www.news-medical.net
