Elevated sugar intake ups premature ageing risk in childhood cancer survivors

An elevated intake of sugar may increase the risk of premature ageing among childhood cancer survivors, according to a study presented at the recent AACR Special Conference: Aging and Cancer.

The researchers used data from the St. Jude Lifetime (SJLIFE) Cohort to identify 3,322 adult childhood cancer survivors aged 18–65 years (mean age 31 years) who had reported their dietary intake through the 110-item Block Food Frequency Questionnaire. Sugar intake was categorized as total sugars, added sugars (all sugars added to food during preparation or processing), and sugar-sweetened beverages (regular and diet soda and fruit-flavoured drinks).

The Deficit Accumulation Index (DAI) was used to assess premature ageing, which was the ratio of the number of age-related chronic health conditions in each survivor to a total of 45 conditions. The DAI categories were low, intermediate, and high risk of ageing (<0.2, 0.2–0.34, and >0.35, respectively).

The average total sugar intake among participants was 120 g/day and added sugar intake 71 g/day. Forty-one percent consumed sugar-sweetened beverages ≥1 times/day. Twenty-six percent documented daily intake of soda, 75 percent of which was regular soda (vs diet).

Every 25 g/1,000 kcal increment in total sugar intake was associated with a 31 percent increased risk of premature ageing among those with an intermediate risk of ageing (odds ratio [OR], 1.31, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.00–1.70) and 52 percent increased risk among those with a high risk of ageing (OR, 1.52, 95 percent CI, 1.03–2.25). [AACR Special Conference: Aging and Cancer; abstract PR014 B004]

Every 20 g/1,000 kcal increment in added sugar intake was associated with a 19 and 18 percent increased risk of premature ageing among participants in the intermediate and high risk of ageing groups, respectively (OR, 1.19, 95 percent CI, 1.07–1.31 and OR, 1.18, 95 percent CI, 1.02–1.37, respectively).

Consumption of ≥2 servings/day of sugar-sweetened beverages was tied to a 54 percent increased risk of premature ageing among participants with an intermediate risk of ageing (OR, 1.54, 95 percent CI, 0.83–2.83), and a sixfold risk of premature ageing among those with a high risk of ageing (OR, 6.71, 95 percent CI, 2.95–15.2) compared with those who consumed ≤1 serving of sugar-sweetened beverages per week.

With regard to type of sugar-sweetened beverage, this increased risk was associated with the consumption of regular, but not diet, soda.

“Childhood cancer used to be a fatal disease, but with recent advances in treatment, childhood cancer survivors live much longer than they used to,” said senior author Associate Professor Yikyung Park from the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, US.

However, they remain a very vulnerable population, added Dr Tuo Lan, also from the Siteman Cancer Center.

“They develop ageing-related health conditions at a much earlier age and a much higher rate. We wanted to understand if there are any modifiable factors we can target to delay this significant problem,” noted Park.

“[In this study,] higher consumption of sugar and sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with an increased risk of premature ageing in childhood cancer survivors,” the authors said, noting that the cross-sectional design did not allow for establishment of causality.

“Everyone should limit their sugar intake. Considering cancer survivors are more vulnerable, they should especially limit their sugar intake,” said Lan.

“Cutting down sugar is not always easy. We need to find a way to help cancer survivors maintain healthier dietary habits to support their overall health,” concluded Park.