As people across the U.S. prepare to enjoy holiday parties and raise a glass in celebration, new research offers a reminder to think about the long-term effects of alcohol on health.
While many already know that alcohol can increase the risk of cancer, this risk exists even at low or moderate levels of drinking. Despite that, drinking remains widespread, and not everyone faces the same level of risk.
To better understand this issue, researchers at Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine analyzed data from 62 studies, which included between 80 and nearly 100 million people.
The goal was to see how drinking different amounts of alcohol – from light to heavy – affects the risk of getting cancer in adults in the U.S. They also looked at how other health problems like obesity and liver disease, along with race, income, and education, might make some people more at risk than others.
Their findings, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, showed that how much and how often people drink matters a lot. The more alcohol a person consumed, the higher their risk for several cancers.
These included breast, colon, liver, mouth, throat, esophagus, and stomach cancers. In people with liver disease caused by alcohol, the cancer was often more advanced and survival rates were lower.
The researchers found that certain groups were more affected than others. These included African Americans, people with specific genetic traits, and people who had obesity or diabetes.
Even if they drank the same or less than other groups, people in lower-income or disadvantaged communities faced higher health risks, showing that social and environmental factors also play a role.
The good news is that people who followed healthy lifestyle advice – such as limiting alcohol, eating well, staying active, and not smoking – had a lower risk of getting cancer and were less likely to die from it. This shows that managing overall lifestyle is key, rather than focusing on alcohol alone.
Dr. Lea Sacca, the senior author of the review, said that the risk of cancer increased as alcohol intake increased, and that many things like the type of drink, age at first use, race, gender, smoking habits, and genetics all influence cancer risk.
Older adults, people with existing health issues, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds are especially at risk.
Some interesting patterns also came up. For example, some studies linked white wine and beer to higher cancer risks, but not liquor. Men who drank often had more risk, while for women, heavy drinking now and then was especially risky.
Smoking made things worse, and other factors like sun exposure, family history, poor diet, infections, and even body weight and eye or hair color could all add to the cancer risk.
Dr. Lewis Nelson, one of the researchers, explained how alcohol harms the body. It creates a chemical that damages DNA, changes hormone levels, causes stress inside cells, weakens the immune system, and helps harmful substances enter the body more easily.
These effects are worse in people who already have health problems or certain genetic traits.
To reduce cancer caused by alcohol, the researchers say we need better public health messages, stronger alcohol policies, and special programs for those at greatest risk.
Dr. Maria Carmenza Mejia, another author, said we need to look beyond just how much alcohol people drink. We have to think about how biology, behavior, and social conditions all come together to shape a person’s risk for cancer.
This broader view can help us build better prevention programs and support healthier communities.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that artificial sweeteners are linked to higher cancer risk, and how drinking milk affects risks of heart disease and cancer.
For more health information, please see recent studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and results showing vitamin D supplements strongly reduces cancer death.
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