Saif-Ur-Rahman, KM (2023) Does drinking alcohol cause cancer? iHealthFacts,
External website: https://ihealthfacts.ie/faq/does-drinking-alcohol-...
Guidelines and recommendations
- We searched several national and international organisations, including WHO, CDC, and HSE, for related guidelines and recommendations.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) states that even light or moderate alcohol consumption can lead to the development of cancer.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has indicated that consuming alcohol increases the risk of various types of cancer.
- The Health Service Executive (HSE) states that drinking alcohol is linked to several kinds of cancer.
The Evidence
- We looked for studies to find out whether or not drinking alcohol causes cancer.
- We found several relevant systematic reviews carried out in the last five years. Some were high quality, and some were medium-to-low quality reviews. However, it is important to note that sometimes even a high quality review can have low quality studies in it.
- One systematic review explored the link between light alcohol drinking and the risk of cancer. The systematic review looked at a type of study that follows people over time called a cohort study. These studies reported that very light or light alcohol drinking can cause breast cancer in women and cancer of the colon/large intestine in men.
- We identified three systematic reviews on cancer of the colon/ large intestine....
Item Type
Article
Publication Type
International, Open Access, Review, Article
Drug Type
Alcohol
Intervention Type
Harm reduction
Date
October 2023
Publisher
Health Research Board-Trials Methodology Research Network (HRB-TMRN), Evidence Synthesis Ireland and Cochrane Ireland
EndNote
Subjects
A Substance use and dependence > Prevalence > Substance use behaviour > Alcohol consumption
A Substance use and dependence > Effects or consequences
B Substances > Alcohol
G Health and disease > State of health > Physical health
G Health and disease > Pathologic process > Cancer
G Health and disease > Digestive system disease
J Health care, prevention, harm reduction and treatment > Harm reduction > Substance use harm reduction
A Substance use and dependence > Effects or consequences
B Substances > Alcohol
G Health and disease > State of health > Physical health
G Health and disease > Pathologic process > Cancer
G Health and disease > Digestive system disease
J Health care, prevention, harm reduction and treatment > Harm reduction > Substance use harm reduction
Repository Staff Only: item control page