This study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Vol. 84, No. 5, 1171-1176, November 2006.
Study title and authors:
Consumption of sugar and sugar-sweetened foods and the risk of pancreatic cancer in a prospective study
Susanna C Larsson, Leif Bergkvist and Alicja Wolk
From the Division of Nutritional Epidemiology, National Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden (SCL and AW), and the Department of Surgery and the Centre for Clinical Research, Central Hospital, Västerås, Sweden (LB)
This study can be accessed at: http://www.ajcn.org/content/84/5/1171.full
The objective of the study was to examine the association of the consumption of added sugar (ie, sugar added to coffee, tea, cereals, etc) and of high-sugar foods with the risk of pancreatic cancer in a study of 77,797 women and men aged 45–83 over a period of 7.2 years.
The study found:
(a) Those who consumed the highest amount of added sugar had a 69% higher risk of having pancreatic cancer compared with those who consumed the lowest.
(b) Those who consumed the highest amount of soft drinks had a 93% higher risk of having pancreatic cancer compared with those who consumed the lowest.
(c) Those who consumed the highest amount of sweetened fruit soups or stewed fruit had a 51% higher risk of having pancreatic cancer compared with those who consumed the lowest.
To conclude: High consumption of sugar and high-sugar foods may be associated with a greater risk of pancreatic cancer.
