Prospective Study of Alcohol Consumption Quantity and Frequency and Cancer-Specific Mortality in the US Population

• Published in: American journal of epidemiology Vol. 174; no. 9; pp. 1044 - 1053
• Main Authors: Breslow, Rosalind A., Chen, Chiung M., Graubard, Barry I., Mukamal, Kenneth J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cary, NC Oxford University Press 01-11-2011; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alcohol Drinking - adverse effects; Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology; Alcohol use; Biological and medical sciences; Breast Neoplasms - etiology; Breast Neoplasms - mortality; Cancer; Colorectal Neoplasms - etiology; Colorectal Neoplasms - mortality; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diet; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Epidemiology; Female; General aspects; Health behavior; Humans; Lung Neoplasms - etiology; Lung Neoplasms - mortality; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Mortality; Neoplasms - etiology; Neoplasms - mortality; Original Contributions; Proportional Hazards Models; Prospective Studies; Prostatic Neoplasms - etiology; Prostatic Neoplasms - mortality; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Risk; Risk factors; Sex Factors; United States - epidemiology; Young Adult; United States; North America; America; United States > US; USA; risk factors; cohort studies; mortality; diet; food habits; neoplasms; alcohol drinking; Consumption; Food habit; Mortality; Malignant tumor; Epidemiology; Prospective; Alcoholic beverage; Diet; Cohort study; Risk factor; Frequency; Public health; Cancer
• ISSN: 0002-9262; 1476-6256; 1476-6256
• DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwr210

Prospective associations between quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption and cancer-specific mortality were studied using a nationally representative sample with pooled data from the 1988, 1990, 1991, and 1997-2004 administrations of the National Health Interview Survey (n = 323,354). By 2006, 8,362 participants had died of cancer. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate relative risks. Among current alcohol drinkers, for all-site cancer mortality, higher-quantity drinking (≥3 drinks on drinking days vs. 1 drink on drinking days) was associated with increased risk among men (relative risk (RR) = 1.24, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09, 1.41; P for linear trend = 0.001); higher-frequency drinking (≥3 days/week vs. <1 day/week) was associated with increased risk among women (RR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.13, 1.55; P-trend < 0.001). Lung cancer mortality results were similar, but among never smokers, results were null. For colorectal cancer mortality, higher-quantity drinking was associated with increased risk among women (RR = 1.93, 95% CI: 1.17, 3.18; P-trend = 0.03). Higher-frequency drinking was associated with increased risk of prostate cancer (RR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.01, 2.38; P for quadratic effect = 0.03) and tended to be associated with increased risk of breast cancer (RR = 1.44, 95% CI: 0.96, 2.17; P-trend = 0.06). Epidemiologic studies of alcohol and cancer mortality should consider the independent effects of quantity and frequency.