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WOMEN WHO DRINK three to six glasses of wine every week may be increasing their risk of getting breast cancer, according to a new study.
Even that relatively small alcohol consumption could raise breast cancer risk by 15 per cent, the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association states.
However, the study’s authors said that small amounts of alcohol could have other positive effects, and it is difficult to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of moderate alcohol consumption.
“We’re not recommending that women stop drinking altogether,” lead author Dr Wendy Chen told the New York Times. “For an individual woman to make the best decision it would depend on what her own breast cancer risk factors are, as well as her cardiovascular risk factors.”
Drinking small amounts of alcohol has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease.
The study followed 105,986 people over nearly 28 years. Among women who never drank there were 281 breast cancers per year for every 100,000 women; while for those drinking between three and six glasses of wine a week the number increased to 333, the BBC reports.
Higher levels of alcohol consumption were found to have much more significant effects. According to the LA Times, binge drinking – taking six or more drinks in one sitting – increased cancer risk by 33 per cent.
“Alcohol is a real risk factor, and the more you drink the higher your risk,” breast cancer expert Dr Steven A Narod wrote in a commentary alongside the research.
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Life is a terminal disease with a survival rate of 0
So lets just enjoy it while we can
Living a long life increases the risk of developing cancer…..
And there’ll be another study next week saying 3 glasses of wine reduces cancer somewhere else. What the hell?
Correct. A load of bullsh*t. Pour yourselves a glass & enjoy. To hell with the begrudgers !!
That’s because it’s pointless reporting on single studies like this one.. The only studies worth reporting on are the meta analysis of ALL available data, and that includes all the trials that get hidden because the results weren’t as required..
But let Ben Goldacre explain it :)
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ben_goldacre_battling_bad_science.html
It’s obviously something the journalists here need to be made aware of…
15% increase seems to be a slightly sensationalist spin on the maths here? Going from 281/100000 to 333/100000 is going from 0.28% chance to 0.33% chance of a woman getting a tumor.
I guess an increase of 0.05% doesn’t make for good copy?
by my calculations it is 17.8% of an increase, .05/.28 it is small but it is a notable increase
It’s all relative John… what you have there is a percentage of a percentage, rather than of the absolute. So what you are saying in english is that there is a 17.8% rise in the “percentage” chance of a tumor. Which, to be fair is pretty meaningless, as it is only relative to the original percentage, not the woman, or the cancer, or even the wine.
When you put it relative to an actual woman who drinks three glasses of wine a week though (Me!) it is an absolute 0.05% increase in her chances of developing this particular kind of cancer.
Spot on Reada, reading too many of these “studies” is definitely bad for your health lol
Sick of reading this kinda scaremongering! Living is terminal.
The point of the survey is that alcohol is a risk factor. Whilst this is useful information it is up to each individual to assess all the risk factors that affect them and make whatever changes (or none) that is right for them.
Personally I religiously follow the advice thst 2 glasses of red wine per day reduces the risk of heart desease!
have your say