All types of alcoholic beverages, including wine, increase the risk of cancer but people are less aware of it and some even believe alcohol has health benefits, a new study has revealed.
Alcohol increases the risk of cancer: All types of alcoholic beverages, including wine, increase the risk of cancer but public awareness is low and some people even believe alcohol has health benefits, a new study has found. All types of beverages containing ethanol, such as wine, beer, and liquor, increase the risk of cancer. To date, seven types of cancer have been linked to alcohol consumption, including breast, mouth and colon cancer. “Alcohol is the leading modifiable risk factor for cancer in the US, and previous research has shown that most Americans don’t know this,” said Andrew Seidenberg, who led the study as a Cancer Prevention Fellow at the National Cancer Institute in the US.
The team found that awareness of the alcohol-cancer link was highest for alcohol, with 31.2 percent of adults aware of the risk, followed by beer (24.9 percent) and wine (20.3 percent). 10 percent of adults said wine lowers cancer risk while 2.2 percent said beer lowers risk and 1.7 percent said alcohol lowers risk. According to a study published in the American Association for Cancer Research’s journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, more than 50 percent of adults did not know how these drinks affect cancer risk.
“Alcoholic beverages of all types, including wine, increase the risk of cancer. The findings emphasize the need to develop interventions to educate people about the cancer risks of alcohol use,” said William MP Klein, associate director of the National Cancer Institute’s Behavioral Research Program. Older adults also showed less awareness of alcohol as a risk factor for cancer.
“Educating the public about how alcohol increases cancer risk will not only empower consumers to make more informed decisions, but can prevent and reduce excessive alcohol use as well as cancer morbidity and mortality,” Klein said.
Except for headings, content is attributed to IANS.
