Heavy and continuous drinking throughout an adult’s life High risk of colorectal canceraccording to a study published by the American Cancer Society (ACS) in the journal Cancer.
The study analyzed 20 years of data from more than 88,000 U.S. adults to determine how long-term drinking affects the risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) and precancerous colorectal adenomas (polyps).
Participants reported their average weekly consumption of beer, wine, and alcoholic beverages during four age periods. — 18-24 years old, 25-39 years old, 40-54 years old, 55 years old and above.
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It was found that “heavy drinkers” drank 14 or more drinks per week, and “moderate drinkers” drank 7 to 14 drinks per week.
Observational studies have shown that continued heavy drinking into adulthood is associated with an increased risk of: colorectal cancer, Especially rectal cancer.
Heavy drinking over a lifetime was associated with a 25% higher overall risk of colorectal cancer and nearly double the risk of rectal cancer. Lifetime moderate drinking was associated with a lower overall risk of colorectal cancer.
Consistently compared to light drinkers heavy drinker The risk of colorectal cancer was about 91% higher.
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For colorectal adenomas (precancerous polyps), current heavy drinkers in their lifetime did not show a strong pattern, but former drinkers were shown to have a significantly lower risk of non-advanced adenomas than current light drinkers.
Of the 88,092 participants, 1,679 were diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
The authors noted that the study had limitations because it was observational and not based on scientific evidence. clinical trial. It also depended on self-reported alcohol consumption.
The findings suggest that consistently heavy alcohol consumption and increased average lifetime alcohol consumption “may increase colorectal cancer risk, whereas abstinence may reduce adenoma risk,” the researchers said. The association “may vary by tumor location,” the researchers added.
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links between alcohol and cancer According to health experts, this is not a new finding.
On a recent episode of the podcast “The Dr. Mark Hyman Show,” Dr. Mark Hyman, chief medical officer at California Functional Health, detailed how even moderate drinking can affect “almost every organ system in the body” through metabolic stress, inflammation, impaired detoxification, and hormonal effects.
Hyman said drinking alcohol has been shown to increase the risk of many cancers, metabolic dysfunction, impaired gut microbiome, and mitochondrial toxins.
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“In short, alcohol taxes every major system in your body, especially your liver, brain, gut and hormones,” he warned.
Dr. Pinchy Chan, a clinician at Circle Medical in San Francisco, said in a previous interview with Fox News Digital that long periods of sobriety can “deeper reshape your health.”
“We see sustained improvements in blood pressure, liver function and inflammation over months to a year,” she said. “Those changes have direct long-term effects. heart disease And there’s also the risk of stroke. ”
Professor Chen added: “Reducing or eliminating alcohol reduces the risk of several cancers over time, including breast and colorectal cancer.”
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Fox News Digital has reached out to researchers for comment.
