Early life sugar restriction tied to lower risk of early-onset cancer

Limiting the intake of sugar during the first 1,000 days of life may help prevent early-onset cancer and extend disease-free lifespan, suggests a study.

A total of 63,819 participants from the UK Biobank born between October 1951 and March 1956, spanning the end of UK sugar rationing (September 1953), were included in the analysis. Using a quasi-experimental birth cohort design, the investigators compared participants exposed to sugar rationing in utero and during infancy with those unexposed.

Integrated national Cancer Registry and hospital inpatient records were used to determine early-onset cancer incidence (≤50 years) and mortality. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models, with exploratory site-specific analyses.

Of the participants (56.3 percent female), 40,397 were exposed to rationing and 23,422 were not. Early life sugar restriction resulted in a significant reduction in the risk of early-onset cancer (HR, 0.66, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.53‒0.81; p<0.001).

The noted dose‒response relationship showed peak protection in participants exposed for ≤24 months postnatally. Such protection existed across solid tumours, independent of specific cancer sites. Null associations with negative controls (herpes zoster and cataract) corroborated specificity.

Notably, no significant difference for cancer-specific mortality was observed.

“The divergence between reduced incidence and unchanged mortality suggests early life metabolic environments primarily influence tumour latency rather than biological aggressiveness,” the investigators said.

“These findings highlight the potential long-term public health implications of early life dietary guidelines against the rising burden of early onset cancer,” they added.