OK, Just One More . . . .

I have often posted pieces that show that alcohol has a positive effect on heart disease, heart attacks, and dementia.  But it has negative effects, too – not least, an contribution to an increased risk of several forms of cancer.  This is reviewed in a British Medical Journal article that analyses European data.

Eight countries participated; France, Italy Spain, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Greece, Germany, and Denmark. There were 109,118 men and 254,870 women enrolled; the majority was between 37 and 70.  At enrollment they completed a detailed questionnaire that included questions on the amount, type, and frequency of alcoholic drinks.  Participants were followed from 1992 to 2008, with the focus on cancer diagnoses.

For the purpose of the analyses, average alcohol consumption was converted to grams/day.  The recommended maximum of 2 drinks a day for men and 1 a day for women represented 24 and 12 grams/day, respectively.  The researchers accepted that there is evidence that alcohol intake is a risk factor for cancer of the upper gastrointestinal tract (mouth, throat, larynx, and gullet), liver, breast, and colon/rectum.  They wanted to calculate the proportion of these cancers that could be attributed to previous and current alcohol consumption.

For the selected cancers, the percentage the following percentages of cancers were attributed to former or current alcohol consumption:  

                                         Men              Women

Upper G-I tract                  44%              25%

Liver cancer                       33%              18%

Colorectal cancer               17%                4%

Breast cancer                      -                   5%

Analyses showed that 39% of the men and 33% of the women drank more than the recommended upper limit for alcohol consumption.  More than half of these specific cancers in men were due to drinking more than 2 drinks a day.  And for women, 80% of the specific cancers were due to drinking more than 1 drink a day.

The researchers want to emphasize that the results of this study reflect the impact of drinking habits about 10 years ago.  People are drinking even more now than then, so it’s time to make these risks known and encourage moderation.  Of course, in the last decades we’ve come to recognize that moderate alcohol intake is healthy – at least from a cardiovascular viewpoint – so, once again, we must accept “it’s the dose that makes the poison”; i.e. moderation in all things.