The Study
No Association between Low-Calorie Sweetener (LCS) Use and Overall Cancer Risk in the Nationally Representative Database in the US: Analyses of NHANES 1988–2018 Data and 2019 Public-Use Linked Mortality Files
This study looked at a big group of US adults and checked whether people who use low-calorie sweeteners were more likely to die from cancer. It found no link. But because it didn’t randomly assign people to use or not use sweeteners, we can’t say for sure that the sweeteners had nothing to do with cancer risk—it just shows they weren’t clearly connected in this group.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
Scientists checked if people who drink diet sodas or use sugar substitutes are more likely to die from cancer using real health data from thousands of Americans over many years.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 560 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Even though some people worry artificial sweeteners cause cancer, this big study found no real link over decades of health tracking.
- 2People who used low-calorie sweeteners had about the same chance of dying from cancer as those who didn’t.
- 3For example, the risk was 1.00 times for aspartame users and 0.96 times for saccharin users—very close to no difference.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nutrients
Year
2022
Authors
V. Fulgoni, A. Drewnowski
Related Content
Claims (6)
Some artificial sweeteners with no calories might raise your chances of getting cancer.
Drinking diet sodas or using artificial sweeteners like aspartame or saccharin doesn’t seem to raise your chances of dying from cancer, according to a big long-term study of U.S. adults.
People in the U.S. who use low-calorie sweeteners tend to smoke less and eat a healthier diet compared to those who don’t, even when accounting for differences in income, education, and background.
People in the U.S. who use low-calorie sweeteners tend to eat about 6 fewer teaspoons of added sugar each day than people who don’t use them.
People in the U.S. who use low-calorie sweeteners tend to have more education and earn more money, according to a large government health survey that tracked adults from 1988 to 2018.
People in the U.S. who use low-calorie sweeteners tend to have higher weight, are more likely to be obese, and report more diabetes — even though they say they eat healthier and consume less sugar.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.