Alcohol has consistently been shown to increase breast cancer (BC) risk. This association may be modified by single nucleotide polymorphisms in alcohol dehydrogenase isoenzymes ADH1B and ADH1C. The Netherlands Cohort Study comprises 62 573 women, aged 55-69 years at baseline (1986). Follow-up for postmenopausal BC for 20.3 years was available. Genotyping of 6 tag SNPs in ADH1B and ADH1C, respectively, was performed on DNA from toenails. A case-cohort approach was used for analysis (complete data available for: nsubcohort= 1301; ncases= 1630). Cox regression models for postmenopausal BC were applied to determine marginal effects of alcohol intake and SNPs using a dominant genetic model, as well as multiplicative interaction of the two. Results were also obtained for subtypes by estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) status. Multiple testing was adjusted for by applying the false discovery rate (FDR). Alcohol intake (categorical) increased the risk of postmenopausal BC (ptrend=0.031). Trends for ER and PR subgroups followed a similar pattern. Continuous modelling of alcohol resulted in a hazard rate ratio (HR) for overall postmenopausal BC of 1.09 (95% CI: 1.01 - 1.19) per 10g/d of alcohol. SNPs were not associated with BC risk. No effect modification of the alcohol-BC association by SNP genotype was seen after FDR-correction in overall BC and ER/PR subgroups. In conclusion, alcohol was shown to increase the risk of postmenopausal BC. This association was not significantly modified by common ADH1B and ADH1C SNPs, neither in overall BC nor in hormone receptor defined subtypes.
BACKGROUND: Alcohol is a known cause of cirrhosis, but it is unclear if the associated risk varies by whether alcohol is drunk with meals, or by the frequency or type of alcohol consumed. Here we aim to investigate the associations between alcohol consumption with meals, daily frequency of consumption, and liver cirrhosis.
METHODS: The Million Women Study is a prospective study that includes one in every four UK women born between 1935 and 1950, recruited between 1996 and 2001. In 2001 (IQR 2000-03), the participants reported their alcohol intake, whether consumption was usually with meals, and number of days per week it was consumed. Cox regression analysis yielded adjusted relative risks (RRs) for incident cirrhosis, identified by follow-up through electronic linkage to routinely collected national hospital admission, and death databases.
FINDINGS: During a mean of 15 years (SD 3) of follow-up of 401 806 women with a mean age of 60 years (SD 5), without previous cirrhosis or hepatitis, and who reported drinking at least one alcoholic drink per week, 1560 had a hospital admission with cirrhosis (n=1518) or died from the disease (n=42). Cirrhosis incidence increased with amount of alcohol consumed (>/=15 drinks [mean 220 g of alcohol] vs one to two drinks [mean 30 g of alcohol] per week; RR 3.43, 95% CI 2.87-4.10; p<0.0001). About half of the participants (203 564 of 401 806) reported usually drinking with meals and, after adjusting for amount consumed, cirrhosis incidence was lower for usually drinking with meals than not (RR 0.69, 0.62-0.77; p<0.0001; wine-only drinkers RR 0.69, 0.56-0.85; all other drinkers RR 0.72, 0.63-0.82). Among 175 618 women who consumed seven or more drinks per week, cirrhosis incidence was greater for daily consumption than non-daily consumption (adjusted RR 1.61, 1.40-1.85; p<0.0001). Daily consumption, together with not drinking with meals, was associated with more than a doubling of cirrhosis incidence (adjusted RR 2.47, 1.96-3.11; p<0.0001).
INTERPRETATION: In middle-aged women, cirrhosis incidence increases with total alcohol intake, even at moderate levels of consumption. For a given weekly intake of alcohol, this excess incidence of cirrhosis is higher if consumption is usually without meals, or with daily drinking. FUNDING: UK Medical Research Council and Cancer Research UK.
The beneficial association of the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) with longevity has been consistently demonstrated, but the associations of MedDiet components have not been accordingly evaluated. We performed an updated meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies published up to 31 December 2017, to quantify the association of adherence to MedDiet, expressed as an index/score (MDS) and of its components with all-cause mortality. We estimated summary relative risks (SRR) and 95 % CI using random effects models. On the basis of thirty studies (225 600 deaths), SRR for the study-specific highest/lowest and per 1sd MDS increment were 0.79 (95 % CI 0.77, 0.81, Iota 2=42 %, P-heterogeneity 0.02) and 0.92 (95 % CI 0.90, 0.94, Iota 2 56 %, P-heterogeneity <0.01), respectively. Inversely, statistically significant associations were evident in stratified analyses by country, MDS range and publication year, with some evidence for heterogeneity across countries overall (P-heterogeneity 0.011), as well as across European countries (P=0.018). Regarding MDS components, relatively stronger and statistically significant inverse associations were highlighted for moderate/none-excessive alcohol consumption (0.86, 95 % CI 0.77, 0.97) and for above/below-the-median consumptions of fruit (0.88, 95 % CI 0.83, 0.94) and vegetables (0.94, 95 % CI 0.89, 0.98), whereas a positive association was apparent for above/below-the-median intake of meat (1.07, 95 % CI 1.01, 1.13). Our meta-analyses confirm the inverse association of MedDiet with mortality and highlight the dietary components that influence mostly this association. Our results are important for better understanding the role of MedDiet in health and proposing dietary changes to effectively increase adherence to this healthy dietary pattern.
BACKGROUND: Problem drinking carries significant health burdens, including an increased risk of hypertension. The effect of chronic alcohol intake on blood pressure (BP) in women is understudied and poorly understood.
OBJECTIVES: We sought to examine the relationships between drinking habits and BP in hypertensive women.
METHODS: We analyzed drinking habits in 113 women followed in the Brigham and Women's Hospital Hypertension Clinic for at least one year.
RESULTS: Among these women with well-controlled hypertension, baseline diastolic BP was significantly lower in moderate drinkers compared with women who rarely or never drank. Changes in both systolic and diastolic BP over 12 months showed a significant negative association with changes in percent drinking days. In contrast, there was a trend toward higher baseline systolic BP among those women who consumed more drinks per drinking day.
CONCLUSIONS: Among these women with controlled hypertension, our data failed to demonstrate an association between drinking beyond recommended limits and higher disease burden. These findings parallel the widely reported difference between drinking frequency, associated with a host of positive health outcomes, and drinking intensity, associated with negative outcomes. Novel to this report is an observed reduction in blood pressure over the one-year follow-up period accompanying an increased drinking frequency in treated hypertensive women. Cautions include the suggestion that a greater number of drinks per drinking day was associated with higher baseline pressure. These data imply that drinking within sensible limits has no negative impact on chronic hypertension. In fact, for women with well-controlled hypertension, such a habit may impart benefit.
