Moderate alcohol consumption linked to higher cancer mortality — News-Medical

Researchers analyzed data from 340,924 participants in the UK Biobank project and found an association between moderate alcohol consumption and higher cancer mortality. High overall alcohol consumption was linked to increased mortality from all causes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other causes, News-Medical reports.

Follow-up lasted more than 13 years

At the start of the study, participants were asked to report the frequency and average amount of beer or cider, wine and spirits they consumed. People who did not consume alcohol or consumed no more than 20 grams of pure alcohol per week were selected as the reference group. During a median follow-up period of 13.4 years, 22,381 deaths were recorded.

Moderate consumption was defined as more than 20 to 40 grams of pure alcohol per day for men and more than 10 to 20 grams for women. High consumption was defined as more than 40 grams per day for men and more than 20 grams for women. The authors accounted for, among other factors, age, sex, education, smoking, physical activity, body mass index, diet quality and socioeconomic factors.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Differences between beverages

High consumption of beer or cider was associated with increased mortality from all causes studied. Even low consumption of these beverages was linked to higher cancer mortality. Low consumption, as well as overall moderate or high consumption of spirits, was also associated with higher mortality from all causes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other causes.

The results for wine differed: low consumption was linked to lower mortality for certain indicators. Moderate or low consumption of red wine was associated with lower all-cause, cardiovascular and other mortality, while high levels of wine consumption were linked to increased cancer mortality. The authors emphasized that the observational nature of the study does not allow claims of a causal relationship or a protective effect of wine.

Consumption with meals

Consuming alcohol sometimes or usually with meals was associated with lower mortality. At the same time, at higher levels of alcohol consumption outside meals, the unfavorable associations were more pronounced. Participants reported their alcohol data themselves, mostly at the beginning of follow-up, which researchers identified as one of the study's limitations.