Drinking soda linked to rise in gullet cancer
May 18, 2004, 

The steep rise in some cancers of the gullet in developed countries could be explained by the massive increase in the consumption of fizzy soft drinks, suggests a new study.

The volume of carbonated soft drinks downed in the US has increased nearly five-fold in the 50 years, while in the last 25 years rates of esophageal adenocarcinoma have rocketed by nearly six-fold in white males, the group with the highest soft drink consumption.

Mohandas Mallath, head of the digestive diseases department at Tata Memorial Hospital, India, and colleagues found a "very significant correlation" between the rise in consumption and esophageal cancer globally. The effects took about 20 years to come through, they believe.

The trend was seen in other countries where fizzy drinks have risen in popularity, such as the UK and Australia. But in countries where soft drinks have not caught on like Japan or China, there has been no increase in the cancers affecting the esophagus, the tube linking the mouth and stomach.

"The surprisingly strong correlation demonstrates the impact of diet patterns on health trends," says Mallath. "As the rates may continue to rise for another 20 years, we believe that more epidemiological studies are urgently required to establish the true association."