Health
Women drinking sugar-sweetened beverages have increased liver cancer, disease risk, researchers find
Women who drink sugar-sweetened beverages every day are at greater risk of developing liver cancer and chronic liver disease, according to international researchers led by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts.
A recent study published in JAMA Network Open included nearly 100,000 postmenopausal women from the Women’s Health Initiative study.
Participants reported their usual soft drink, fruit drink consumption – not including fruit juice – and then reported artificially sweetened beverage consumption after three years. They were followed for a median of more than two decades.
Researchers looked at self-reported liver cancer incidence and death due to chronic liver disease, including fibrosis, cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis – which were further verified by medical records or the National Death Index.
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Part of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Final analyses – including 98,786 postmenopausal women – found 6.8% of women who consumed one or more sugar-sweetened beverages every day had an 85% higher risk of liver cancer and a 68% higher risk of chronic liver disease mortality compared with those who had fewer than three sugar-sweetened beverages per month.
However, the authors of the study noted that the study was observational and causality cannot be inferred. They relied on self-reported responses regarding intake, sugar content and outcomes.
Approximately 65% of adults in the United States consume sugar sweetened beverages daily, according to Brigham and Women’s Hospital. (iStock)
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The researchers said more studies are necessary to validate this risk association and determine why sugary drinks appeared to increase the risk of liver cancer and disease, as well as to make clear the potential mechanisms by integrating genetics, preclinical and experimental studies and -omics data.
The hospital noted in a release that approximately 65% of adults in the U.S. consume sugar-sweetened beverages daily.
The new part of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston on Dec. 16, 2021. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
“To our knowledge, this is the first study to report an association between sugar sweetened beverage intake and chronic liver disease mortality,” first author Longgang Zhao, of the Brigham’s Channing Division of Network Medicine, said in a statement. “Our findings, if confirmed, may pave the way to a public health strategy to reduce risk of liver disease based on data from a large and geographically diverse cohort.”
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A man’s Facebook plea for a liver donor attracted the attention of a high-school acquaintance he hadn’t spoken to in 20 years.
In April 2024, after experiencing appetite loss and losing 15 pounds in a month, Steven Register, 42, was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, according to news agency SWNS.
Doctors told the former MLB pitcher — who played for the Colorado Rockies in 2008 and the Philadelphia Phillies in 2009 — that a liver transplant was likely his best chance of survival.
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“When we first met with the doctors, they gave me a year to a year-and-a-half to live,” Register said, adding that he and his wife, Beth, immediately started researching options.
The couple traveled from Auburn, Alabama, to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where Register underwent surgery for a temporary ostomy bag and began chemotherapy, per the SWNS report.
“When we first met with the doctors, they gave me a year to a year-and-a-half to live,” said Steven Register, shown above with his wife, Beth. (SWNS)
Plans for the liver resection were canceled when doctors discovered the tumors were too large, which led the couple to consider a transplant.
Register’s wife created a Facebook group to search for a living liver donor, hoping someone would come forward in time.
An unexpected volunteer
Kristin Johnston, a 40-year-old preschool teacher from Roswell, Georgia, saw the post and recognized Register as a former high-school classmate.
The two had met in 1999 at Shaw High School in Columbus, Georgia, but hadn’t spoken in over two decades.
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“It was just so far out of left field,” said Register, who couldn’t believe it when Johnston volunteered to donate part of her liver.
He added to SWNS, “I haven’t seen or talked to her in over 20 years, and for her to reach out like that, it was just meant to be.”
Kristin Johnston, a 40-year-old preschool teacher from Roswell, Georgia, shown above, saw Register’s Facebook post and recognized him as a former high-school classmate. (SWNS)
Johnston said she started by doing a quick online search for live liver donation and discovered that blood type compatibility was the first step.
“I just sent him a message,” she said. “I said, ‘Hey, what’s your blood type?’ and he said, ‘I’m B positive.’”
She responded, “Wait, that’s mine, too,” and offered, “I’ll happily donate a lobe if I’m a match.”
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Johnston was later cleared as a match and received the confirmation on a meaningful day.
“I got the news on Good Friday, of all days, that I was officially cleared as his liver donor,” she said.
Surgery and second chances
The surgery, which is expected to take 12 to 14 hours, will involve removing 70% of Johnston’s liver and transplanting it into Register, according to SWNS.
Both her remaining liver and the donated portion will regenerate over time, giving both a second chance at health.
“I got the news on Good Friday, of all days.”
“For her, she is ultimately giving him the gift of life — for him, a really fresh start in this journey,” said Beth Register.
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Steven Register said he hoped that “once I get my liver with all the tumor and cancer out, I’ll be cancer-free from there.”
The Register family — including children McKenzie (16), Blakely (14) and Brooks (8) — launched a fundraiser on SupportNow to help with travel, food and medical expenses.
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Johnston and her husband Cody, 38, a real estate developer, have three kids of their own — Sawyer (9), Teddy (7) and Dahlia (4).
Raising awareness and faith
Beth Register said she hopes their family’s story raises awareness about the impact of living organ donation.
“A lot of people don’t realize that live donations, whether it be for livers or kidneys, are even an option,” she said.
The Register family — Steven, Beth and their three children, McKenzie (middle-left), Blakely (middle-right) and Brooks (front, center) — launched a fundraiser on SupportNow to help with travel, food and medical expenses. (SWNS)
She added that Johnston had been selfless from the start.
The families believe fate had a hand in reconnecting them, per SWNS.
“We just pray that God is opening all the right doors and that Kristin is the perfect donor for him.”
“We just pray that God is opening all the right doors and that Kristin is the perfect donor for him,” Beth Register said.
“We just appreciate her being willing to put her life on pause to hopefully lengthen his life by many, many, many years.”
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