The reason drinking among adults hit a record low
Fewer Americans are drinking alcohol, and more now see even moderate drinking as a health risk, according to a new Gallup poll.
unbranded – Lifestyle
Drinking alcohol is linked to higher chances of colorectal cancer − but just how many drinks increase your risk?
New research, published Jan. 26 in the American Cancer Society’s peer-reviewed journal Cancer, found drinkers with an average lifetime alcohol intake of 14 or more drinks per week had a 25% higher risk of developing colorectal cancer and a 95% higher risk of developing rectal cancer compared to those with an average of less than one drink per week.
Moderate alcohol intake, which was measured as seven to less than 14 drinks per week, was associated with a lower risk compared to heavy drinkers.
Though higher lifetime consumption is associated with higher risk, especially for rectal cancer, the study also revealed some good news: Quitting drinking can lower a person’s risk.
“While the data on former drinkers were sparse, we were encouraged to see that their risk may return to that of the light drinkers,” co–senior author Erikka Loftfield of the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute said in a news release.
Using data from U.S. adults enrolled in the National Cancer Institute Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, researchers analyzed 1,679 colorectal cancer cases that occurred among 88,092 participants over a 20-year follow-up.
Earlier this month, new evidence from the American Cancer Society showed colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer-related death among people under 50 in the United States.
“We weren’t expecting colorectal cancer to rise to this level so quickly, but now it is clear that this can no longer be called an old person’s disease,” Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, senior author of the study and senior vice president of surveillance, prevention and health services research at the American Cancer Society, said in a news release at the time.
Meanwhile, federal health officials are no longer advising how many alcoholic drinks are safe for Americans, instead urging people to “consume less alcohol” and abstain altogether if they have certain health conditions, according to the latest dietary guidelines.
“Any level of drinking has some risk, and it increases with more drinking,” Christopher Kahler, the director of the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University, previously told USA TODAY. “There’s no discussion of risk in the guidelines now, just that drinking less is better for your health.”
