Sugary Drink Consumption and Subsequent Colorectal Cancer Risk: The Japan Public Health Center-Based Prospective Cohort Study.

Abstract

Most studies examining the associations of sugary drink consumption on colorectal cancer risk have been conducted in Western populations. This study consisted of 74,070 participants in the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study who completed a food frequency questionnaire (1995-1999). The participants were followed until December 2013 to investigate the associations between sugary drink consumption and colorectal cancer risk using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Among the 74,070 participants, mean age was 56.5 years at baseline, with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 23.5 and a mean daily consumption of 286 mL/day for men and 145 mL/day for women. During a follow-up of 15 years, 1,648 colorectal cancer cases were identified. No overall greater risk of colorectal cancer was observed among men [multivariable HR = 0.84; 95% confidence of interval (CI), 0.70-1.02; ≥254 mL/day vs. nonconsumers] and women (HR = 1.20; 95% CI, 0.96-1.50, ≥134 mL/day vs. nonconsumers). Sugary drink consumption was associated with colon cancer among women (HR = 1.36; 95% CI, 1.03-1.78, ≥134 mL/day vs. nonconsumers). HRs for proximal colon cancer among women who consumed sugary drinks, as compared with nonconsumers, were 1.47 (95% CI, 1.03-2.10) for sugary drink consumption less than 134 mL/day, and 1.45 (95% CI, 1.01-2.09) for at least 134 mL/day. In this large prospective cohort of Japanese with a moderate sugary drink consumption level and low prevalence of obesity, we observed a 36% increased risk of colon cancer in women. Our findings highlight the importance of subsite- and sex-specific investigation.