Medicine and Man

There have been many studies which cite the benefits of alcohol in heart disease when consumed in moderation [1,2,3]. However, a new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute [4] found that even small amounts of alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer in women.

The editorial [5] notes:

Taking into account the prevalence of alcohol consumption and its observed relative risks, the authors estimated that about 13% of cancers of the breast, aerodigestive tract, liver, and rectum could be attributed to alcohol.

From a standpoint of cancer risk, the message of this report could not be clearer. There is no level of alcohol consumption that can be considered safe

Of note that there is a small but definite risk of progression to chronic alcoholism in people who drink moderately (2-3 drinks per day as recommended) and it is extremely difficult to identify which individuals will become addicted to alcohol.

References:

1. C Reactive protein, moderate alcohol consumption, and long term prognosis after successful coronary stenting: four year results from the GENERATION study

2. Alcohol Consumption and Risk for Coronary Heart Disease among Men with Hypertension

3. Wine drinking is associated with increased heart rate variability in women with coronary heart disease

4. Moderate Alcohol Intake and Cancer Incidence in Women

5. Alcohol, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer: Treat With Caution

Tags: Atherosclerosis, Cancer

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 25th, 2009 at 11:56 am and is filed under Health News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.