The study followed more than 112,000 U.S. adults over decades and compared gastric cancer risk between daily sugary-drink consumers and those who rarely drank them. The reported association was roughly 2.45 times higher risk.

Artificially sweetened drinks showed no similar association, the researchers report.

Because this is an observational study, the results cannot establish cause and effect. The researchers themselves note that the findings do not prove sugary beverages cause cancer.