beverages at the supermarket
Consuming aspartame and drinking sweetened beverages do not increase a person’s risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), according to research published in the Journal of Nutrition.
Investigators analyzed information from more than 100,000 men and women in the US.
The results suggested that neither aspartame intake nor the consumption of sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened beverages were associated with an increased risk of NHL.
Marjorie L. McCullough, SCD, RD, of the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, Georgia, and her colleagues conducted this research, analyzing data from the nutrition cohort of the Cancer Prevention Study II, an assessment of cancer incidence
and mortality in the US.
Study subjects first completed a questionnaire in 1992, noting information related to diet and other lifestyle factors. They completed follow-up questionnaires in 1999 and 2003, which included questions related to the consumption of sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverages, as well as tabletop sweeteners containing aspartame.
Among the 100,442 adult men and women who provided information on diet and lifestyle factors in 1999, there were 1196 NHL cases verified during a 10-year follow-up period.
The investigators assessed the risk of NHL associated with sweetened beverage and aspartame consumption, adjusted for the subjects’ smoking status, body mass index, and history of diabetes.
The analysis revealed that, in women and men combined, there was no association between NHL risk and the consumption of 1 or more servings (355 mL) of artificially sweetened beverages. Compared to nondrinkers, subjects who drank artificially sweetened beverages had a risk ratio (RR) of 0.92 (P=0.14).
Similarly, there was no association between NHL risk and sugar-sweetened beverages. Compared to nondrinkers, the RR for sugar-sweetened beverage drinkers was 1.10 (P=0.62).
Furthermore, subjects’ overall aspartame intake, which was estimated from artificially sweetened carbonated beverage consumption and the use of aspartame packets, was not associated with NHL risk.
The RR was 1.02 (P=0.69) for the top quintile (which had a median aspartame intake of 145 mg per day) vs the bottom quintile (which had a median aspartame intake of 0 mg per day).
The investigators also found that associations between disease and sweetened beverage consumption or aspartame intake were generally null for specific NHL subtypes, including multiple myeloma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, and other B-cell lymphomas.
“The study supports the decades of research that have continued to find that aspartame is safe for use in foods and beverages,” said Haley Stevens, PhD, President of the Calorie Control Council. “It also supports the conclusions of the National Cancer Institute, who have determined that aspartame does not increase a person’s risk of developing cancer.”
