This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Garland, M. Articles by Willett, W. C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Garland, M. Articles by Willett, W. C.

Alcohol Consumption in Relation to Breast Cancer Risk in a Cohort of United States Women 25–42 Years of Age¹

Departments of Nutrition [M. G., M. J. S., W. C. W.], Epidemiology [D. J. H., G. A. C., D. L. S., J. E. M., M. J. S., W. C. W.], and Biostatistics [D. L. S.] and Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention [D. J. H., G. A. C.], Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, and Channing Laboratory [D. J. H., G. A. C., J. E. M., M. J. S., W. C. W.] and Division of Preventive Medicine [J. E. M.], Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115

We evaluated current and past alcohol consumption prospectively in relation to breast cancer risk among 116,671 women ages 25–42 years old at enrollment in 1989. During 6 years of follow-up, 445 cases of invasive breast cancer were identified. For alcohol consumption in the previous year, the multivariate relative risk associated with more than 20 g/day (approximately 10 drinks/week) was 1.23 (95% confidence interval, 0.68–2.21); the P for trend was 0.85. For average lifetime alcohol consumption, the multivariate relative risk associated with consumption of 10 or more drinks/week was 1.20 (95% confidence interval, 0.69–2.11); the P for trend was 0.18. We examined drinking in several time periods of life; only drinking at ages 23–30 was significantly positively associated with risk. Although this may represent a chance finding, it merits further study. Because drinking levels in this population were low, we had limited information on heavier drinking. Our results suggest that there is unlikely to be a large effect of moderate alcohol consumption on breast cancer risk among young women, although a modest effect cannot be excluded. The association between alcohol consumption and breast cancer is unlikely to be substantially stronger among premenopausal women than among postmenopausal women.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				V. Dumeaux, E. Lund, and A. Hjartaker Use of Oral Contraceptives, Alcohol, and Risk for Invasive Breast Cancer Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., August 1, 2004; 13(8): 1302 - 1307. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Mozaffarian, T. Pischon, S. E Hankinson, N. Rifai, K. Joshipura, W. C Willett, and E. B Rimm Dietary intake of trans fatty acids and systemic inflammation in women Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, April 1, 2004; 79(4): 606 - 612. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Pischon, S. E. Hankinson, G. S. Hotamisligil, N. Rifai, W. C. Willett, and E. B. Rimm Habitual Dietary Intake of n-3 and n-6 Fatty Acids in Relation to Inflammatory Markers Among US Men and Women Circulation, July 15, 2003; 108(2): 155 - 160. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Byrne, P. M. Webb, T. W. Jacobs, G. Peiro, S. J. Schnitt, J. L. Connolly, W. C. Willett, and G. A. Colditz Alcohol Consumption and Incidence of Benign Breast Disease Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., November 1, 2002; 11(11): 1369 - 1374. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. W. Singletary and S. M. Gapstur Alcohol and Breast Cancer: Review of Epidemiologic and Experimental Evidence and Potential Mechanisms JAMA, November 7, 2001; 286(17): 2143 - 2151. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Kropp, H. Becher, A. Nieters, and J. Chang-Claude Low-to-Moderate Alcohol Consumption and Breast Cancer Risk by Age 50 Years among Women in Germany Am. J. Epidemiol., October 1, 2001; 154(7): 624 - 634. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]