PEOPLE who regularly drink very hot tea and coffee could face a significantly higher risk of developing a type of oesophageal cancer, according to a major new study.
Researchers found that drinking beverages at a "very hot" temperature was associated with around three times the risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma compared with drinking them warm.
Read more: Bayeux Tapestry returns to UK for first time in nearly 1,000 years as tickets sell out
The findings are based on an analysis of almost 980,000 people in the UK, making it the largest study of its kind to examine the relationship between hot drink temperature and oesophageal cancer.
Participants were followed for around 14 years, allowing researchers to examine their reported drinking habits alongside their long-term health.
Rather than recording the exact temperature of each drink, researchers asked participants how they preferred their hot drinks.
The choices included "very hot", "hot", "warm" and "do not drink hot drinks".
The study found that temperature appeared to be particularly important for oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma, known as SCC.
There was no similar association between very hot drinks and oesophageal adenocarcinoma, or AC, which is the other main form of oesophageal cancer.
The researchers also looked at how frequently people drank hot beverages.
After taking temperature into account, people who reported drinking six or more hot drinks every day had a 71% higher risk of SCC than those drinking fewer than six.
Email The Sunday Star newsroom with your story, make sure to include a suggested headline, as well as high-quality imagery to stand out on the page. From celebrity stories to breaking news, business, sport, motoring, lifestyle and real-life stories, The Sunday Star covers a range of subjects.
- Send your story, press release, guest post idea or feature proposal to: news@sundaystar.co.uk
The research was led by Dr Keren Papier, a senior nutritional epidemiologist at the University of Oxford's population health department.
The findings have been published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Cancer experts said the results support allowing tea and coffee to cool before drinking them, particularly when they are uncomfortable to consume because of their heat.
The research does not mean that tea or coffee themselves are responsible for the increased cancer risk.
Instead, the findings point towards the temperature at which the drinks are consumed as an important factor.
The researchers said their results also broadly matched previous studies from other parts of the world.
Research in Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East has previously found links between consuming tea or mate at temperatures around 70C or above and an increased risk of oesophageal cancer.
The latest study provides evidence from a large western European population and gives researchers a much bigger sample with which to examine the potential link.
Oesophageal cancer affects the tube connecting the mouth and stomach, commonly known as the gullet.
Have you got a story to share? Email your ideas, pictures & videos to: news@sundaystar.co.uk or send us a Tweet @SundayStarNews