A U.S. study shows that women who drink three or more glasses of beer, wine, or spirits a day face a higher risk of developing breast cancer.
According to a report by Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao," a U.S. research group released a report yesterday at the European Cancer Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The study, which lasted eight years, is the most extensive research to date on the relationship between breast cancer and alcohol. The group found that it is the total amount of alcohol consumed that increases the risk of breast cancer, rather than any specific type of alcohol being particularly carcinogenic.
One of the researchers, Dr. Klatsky from Kaiser Permanente, the largest healthcare organization in the U.S., said: "Numerous past studies have found a link between alcohol consumption and breast cancer, but the actual data is very limited. The results of studies on whether specific types of alcohol cause cancer are contradictory."
Between 1978 and 1985, researchers observed the drinking habits of over 70,000 women of different ethnicities. The results showed that nearly 3,000 of these women were diagnosed with breast cancer by 2004. The study primarily focused on the women's preference for certain types of alcohol and their consumption levels. Additionally, the group compared their alcohol intake with that of women who drank less than one glass per day.
The findings revealed that women who drank between one and two glasses per day had a 10% higher risk of developing breast cancer compared to those who drank less than one glass daily. For women who drank more than three glasses per day, the risk increased by 30%. The research group stated that this risk was consistent across different age groups and ethnicities.