Association between hot beverage intake and gastric cancer risk: a prospective cohort study from the UK Biobank

Hot beverage consumption has been hypothesized to increase the risk of esophageal cancer; however, its impact on gastric cancer (GC) is still inconclusive. This study aimed to investigate the prospective associations between hot beverage intake and the risk of GC. We examined the association between daily consumption and preferred temperature of hot beverages (tea and coffee) and the incidence of GC in 328 752 UK Biobank participants. The consumption of beverages and preferred temperature were collected using a food frequency questionnaire. We applied Cox proportional hazard regression to estimate the multivariable hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for the association of hot beverage intake and GC risk and further stratified the analysis by anatomical subsites. During a follow-up period of 11.6 years, 523 incident GC cases were identified. Compared with non-drinkers and warm temperature drinkers, drinking over 8 cups per day (HR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.08-2.21) of hot beverages was associated with a higher risk of GC. The risk was further elevated among participants who preferred very hot beverages, the HRs (95% CI) comparing reference were 1.69 (1.06-2.68) for 6-8 cups per day and 2.03 (1.26-3.27) for >8 cups per day. These results remained consistent in subgroups and sensitivity analyses. Our findings provide new evidence that drinking hot or very hot beverages is a risk factor for GC in the UK where drinking hot tea and coffee is common.