NEW HAVEN, Conn., Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Yale researchers say they have debunked the link between esophageal cancer and soft drinks.
Carbonated soft drink consumption was previously suggested to be linked to the 350 percent increase of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus since the mid-1970s, but researchers at Yale School of Medicine report that the link is unfounded and that there may, in fact, be a decreased risk of this cancer for diet soda drinkers.
The researchers say diet soft drink consumers might differ from other groups because they may engage in other unmeasured healthy behaviors.
"We found that contrary to the hypothesis put forth by other researchers, carbonated soft drink consumption was inversely associated with esophageal adenocarcinoma risk, mainly attributable to diet soda, and that high intake did not increase risk of any esophageal or gastric cancer subtype in men or women," said Susan Mayne, head of the department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale School of Medicine and associate director of the Yale Cancer Center.
The study is published in the January 4 issue of Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
