Artificial Sweeteners Linked to Increased Cancer Risk

THURSDAY, March 24, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Artificial sweeteners (particularly aspartame and acesulfame-K) are associated with increased cancer risk, according to a study published online March 24 in PLOS Medicine.

Charlotte Debras, from the Sorbonne Paris Nord University, and colleagues examined the associations between artificial sweetener intakes and cancer risk, overall and by site, among 102,865 adults from the French population-based cohort NutriNet-Santé (2009 to 2021), with a median follow up of 7.8 years.

The researchers found that higher consumers of total artificial sweeteners (above the median exposure) had increased risk of overall cancer compared with nonconsumers (hazard ratio, 1.13). Aspartame and acesulfame-K was associated with increased cancer risk (hazard ratios, 1.15 and 1.13, respectively). Risks were elevated for breast cancer (hazard ratio, 1.22 for aspartame) and obesity-related cancers (hazard ratios, 1.13 and 1.15 for total artificial sweeteners and aspartame, respectively).

"Our findings do not support the use of artificial sweeteners as safe alternatives for sugar in foods or beverages and provide important and novel information to address the controversies about their potential adverse health effects," the authors write. "These results are particularly relevant in the context of the ongoing in-depth re-evaluation of artificial sweeteners by European Food Safety Authority and other agencies globally."

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