Sugary drink consumption and the subsequent risk of gastric cancer: The Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study

Background/objectives: Evidence on the association between sugary drink consumption and gastric cancer (GC) risk is limited, especially in Asian populations. This study aimed to investigate the association between consumption of sugary drinks (sugar-sweetened beverages and 100% fruit juices) and GC risk in a Japanese population. Subjects/methods: This study included 74,455 Japanese individuals aged 45–74 years (35,102 males and 39,353 females) who participated in a population-based cohort study (Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study). Sugary drinks were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to obtain hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of GC incidence according to the quintile of sugary drink consumption. Results: We identified 2141 patients with GC cases during 16.7 years of follow-up. Sugary drink consumption was not associated with GC risk. The multivariate HR of total, cardia, and non-cardia GC in the highest vs. lowest quintile of sugary drinks consumption in males was 0.98 (95% CI: 0.82–1.17; p-trend 0.48), 0.48 (95% CI: 0.23–0.99; p-trend 0.03), and 1.03 (95% CI: 0.86–1.24; p-trend 0.88), respectively. In females, the respective multivariate HRs were 1.03 (95% CI: 0.79–1.33; p-trend 0.47), 1.28 (95% CI: 0.32–5.12; p-trend 0.53), and 1.01 (95% CI: 0.78–1.32; p-trend 0.56). The results did not change significantly after adjusting for Helicobacter pylori infection and atrophic gastritis status in the subgroup analysis. Conclusions: In this Japanese prospective cohort study, sugary drink consumption was not associated with GC risk.