Study suggests association between consuming artificial sweeteners and increased cancer risk

Artificial sweeteners have a reduced sugar content and calories. The French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm) and Sorbonne ParisNord University, France, collaborated on a study that suggests artificial sweeteners are associated with increased cancer risk.

Millions of people consume artificial sweeteners in food and beverages. The safety of these Additives has been debated. Researchers analyzed data from more than 100,000 French adults in the study to evaluate the potential cancer risk of artificial sweeteners. An ongoing web-based cohort is being studied by the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team. Participants enroll and self-report their health data. Data concerning artificial sweetener intake was gathered by researchers. The researchers used statistical analyses to investigate the associations between artificial sweetener intakes and cancer risk. They adjusted for a range of variables including age, sex, education, physical activity, smoking, body mass index, height, weight-gain during follow-up, diabetes, family history of cancer, as well as baseline intakes of energy, alcohol, sodium, saturated fatty acids, fiber.

The researchers found that people who consume larger quantities of artificial sweeteners have a higher risk of cancer than people who don't. There were higher risks for breast cancer.

The study had a number of limitations. The participants were more likely to be women, to have higher educational levels, and to exhibit health-conscious behaviors. The observational nature of the study means that there can be residual confounding and reverse causality. Additional research is required to confirm the findings.

The 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 controversy about their potential adverse health effects. These results provide important and novel insights for the ongoing re-evaluation of food Additive sweeteners by the European Food Safety Authority and other health agencies globally.

The results from the NutriNet-Sant cohort suggest that artificial sweeteners found in many food and beverage brands worldwide may be associated with increased cancer risk. These findings provide new information for the re-evaluation of these food Additives.

The story was told

The materials are provided by the journal. Content can be edited for style and length.

Journal reference

1. Charlotte Debras, Eloi Chazelas, Bernard Srour, Nathalie Druesne-Pecollo, Younes Esseddik, Fabien Szabo de Edelenyi, Cédric Agaësse, Alexandre De Sa, Rebecca Lutchia, Stéphane Gigandet, Inge Huybrechts, Chantal Julia, Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot, Benjamin Allès, Valentina A. Andreeva, Pilar Galan, Serge Hercberg, Mélanie Deschasaux-Tanguy, Mathilde Touvier. Artificial sweeteners and cancer risk: Results from the NutriNet-Santé population-based cohort study. PLOS Medicine, March 24, 2022; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003950