Scientists at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital reported in the BMJ that a study of 136,000 men and women that was conducted over a 30-year period revealed that those who drank more had a higher risk of alcohol caused cancers or alcohol related cancers. The results were interesting: men of the target group who had smoked at some point in their lives were more susceptible to cancer, while those who had not smoked showed no change. This is an important matter to take into account in the evaluation of the findings when dealing with prostate, colon, or breast cancers.
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A new study has found that even people who only drink a light or moderate amount of alcohol will see a big increase in risk of getting multiple types of cancer. Previous studies had specifically targeted the health risks of heavy drinking, but the effects of moderate drinking are uncertain until now.
The study has been conducted with the participation of 88,084 women and 47,881 men, whose condition has been observed from 1980 until 2010. They are: the Health Professionals Follow-up Study for men and the Nurses’ Health Study for women. The study also showed that there were 11 extra breast cancers for every 1000 women below 75 years old for every extra drink consumed daily. “And smoking and heavy alcohol consumption should be absolutely avoided to prevent cancer”.
Drinking habit is known for being a risk factor for several cancers, for instance, larynx, liver, colorectal, and esophageal cancer. However, researchers have shifted gear to investigate more closely the overall cancer risks, and include the consumption of alcohol even in small or reasonable amounts in their studies.
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Jurgen Rehm, a specialist from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto believes that this study has helped researchers understand the link between light to moderate drinking and a higher risk for alcohol related cancers. Based on the collected data, medical researchers advise women who have had other cases of breast cancer in their family to limit their alcohol consumption below the recommended norms or to refrain from alcohol use altogether.
