Many people think drinking red wine has health benefits, but a new study conducted in Japan showed even light to moderate alcohol consumption was associated with elevated cancer risks.
In the study published in Cancer, the journal of the American Cancer Society, the overall cancer risk appeared to be the lowest at zero alcohol consumption.
Although some studies have linked limited alcohol consumption to lower risks of certain types of cancer, even light to moderate consumption has been associated with a higher risk of cancer overall.
The Japanese study
To study the issue in Japan, a team examined clinical data from 2005-2016 on 63,232 patients with cancer and 63,232 controls matched for sex, age, hospital admission date, and admitting hospital. Participants reported on their average daily amount of alcohol consumption and the duration of drinking.
Overall cancer risk appeared to be the lowest at zero alcohol consumption, and there was a direct association between cancer risk and alcohol consumption. The association suggested that a light level of drinking – for example, one drink per day for 10 years or two drinks per day for five years – would increase the overall cancer risk by 5 percent. Those who drank two or fewer drinks per day had an elevated cancer risk regardless of how long they had consumed alcohol.
The elevated risk included a variety of cancers such as colorectal, stomach, breast, prostate, and esophagus.
One drink was defined as a single glass of wine, two-ounces of whiskey, or 17-ounces of beer.
The increased risk was also found in both men and women and regardless of other drinking/smoking behaviors and occupational class.
"In Japan, the primary cause of death is cancer," said Masayoshi Zaitsu, M.D., Ph.D., researcher at The University of Tokyo and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "Given the current burden of overall cancer incidence, we should further encourage promoting public education about alcohol-related cancer risk."
American Cancer Society recommendations
As part of its guidelines on nutrition and physical activity for cancer prevention, the American Cancer Society recommends that people who drink alcohol limit their intake to no more than two drinks per day for men and one drink a day for women.
The recommended limit is lower for women because of their smaller body size and because their bodies tend to break down alcohol more slowly. These daily limits don’t mean it’s safe to drink larger amounts on fewer days of the week, which can still lead to health, social, and other problems.
Alcohol use has been linked to several types of cancer and other health risks, but this is complicated by the fact that low-to-moderate alcohol intake has been linked with a lower risk of heart disease. Still, lowering the risk of heart disease isn’t a compelling reason for adults who don’t drink alcohol to start.
There are many ways to reduce heart disease risk, including avoiding smoking, eating a diet low in saturated and trans fats, staying at a healthy weight, staying physically active, and controlling blood pressure and cholesterol.
According to the 2010 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, some groups shouldn’t drink alcoholic beverages at all. These include:
- Children and teens.
- People who can’t limit their drinking or who are recovering from alcoholism.
- Women who are or may become pregnant.
- People who plan to drive or operate machinery.
- People who take part in other activities that require attention, skill, or coordination or in situations where impaired judgment could cause injury or death.
- People taking prescription or over-the-counter medicines that interact with alcohol.
- People with certain medical conditions, such as liver disease or pancreatitis.
The society said on its website that exactly how alcohol affects cancer risk isn’t completely understood. There might be several different ways it can raise risk, and this might depend on the type of cancer.
See the society’s How Does Alcohol Raise Cancer Risk? for details.
