Cancer experts say that this research suggests that people should cool excessively hot tea and coffee to a suitable drinking temperature before drinking to reduce the risk of esophageal cancer.
Research has found that the temperature of beverages and the frequency of consuming excessively hot drinks can increase the risk of developing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). However, drinking hot drinks does not increase the risk of another type of esophageal cancer – esophageal adenocarcinoma (AC).
This study was published on Wednesday in the International Journal of Cancer. According to the study, after controlling for factors such as drinking frequency, drinking beverages at 'very hot' temperatures is approximately three times associated with an increased risk of SCC compared to 'warm' beverages, but not with AC risk. ”
Researchers have shown that after excluding the temperature factor of beverages, people who drink 6 or more hot drinks per day have a 71% increased risk of SCC compared to those who drink less than 6 hot drinks per day, and the association with AC.
The study was led by Dr. Keren Papier, a senior nutrition epidemiologist in the Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford.
The research conclusion is based on an analysis of the intake of hot drinks among nearly 980000 people in the UK, making it the largest study of its kind in the world to date, and helping to further confirm the association between drinking excessively hot drinks and esophageal cancer. The research team conducted a 14 year follow-up on the subjects to observe their long-term lifestyle habits and health status.
Researchers asked participants what temperature they usually prefer to drink hot drinks at, with options including "very hot," "hot," "warm," and "do not drink hot drinks. The research conclusion is based on participants' subjective judgment of the temperature of the beverage consumed, rather than the actual precise temperature of the beverage.
The conclusions drawn from this study targeting Western European populations are consistent with similar research conducted in Asia, Africa, South America, and the Middle East. Previous studies have found that drinking tea or maday tea at or above 70 degrees Celsius can increase the risk of developing esophageal cancer.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a subsidiary of the World Health Organization (WHO), listed hot drinks as a substance that is "likely to cause cancer in humans" in 2016 and referred to it as one of the "possible causes" of esophageal cancer.
Researchers believe that the reason why excessively hot drinks may increase the risk of esophageal cancer is because high temperatures can cause thermal damage to the cells on the inner wall of the esophagus. The esophagus is also known as the "food duct" of the human body, responsible for transporting food from the mouth to the stomach. Alcohol consumption and smoking are other major risk factors for esophageal cancer.
The research team said that the health department can use the latest research results to encourage the public to drink low temperature drinks and reduce the consumption of very hot drinks, thus helping to reduce the incidence rate of esophageal cancer.
Researchers estimate that if people stop drinking beverages with excessively high temperatures, about 1 to 2 out of every 10 cases of esophageal cancer in the UK may be avoided.
Fiona Osgun, Head of Health Information at Cancer Research UK, pointed out: "It's difficult to say exactly how long a heat clearing drink should be stored properly. But if you're concerned about this, we recommend waiting until the drink is at a suitable temperature before drinking, rather than drinking it while it's still very hot
(Caixin News Agency, Niu Zhanlin)