A new shocking study reveals that the number of alcohol -related deaths in the US has doubled in the last two decades.
This is the first study to look at the long -term trends in the deaths of alcohol -related cancer across the country and was led by a team from the comprehensive Cancer Center Sylvester, part of the Miami Miller University School of Medicine.
But not every demographic is evenly hit.
Alcohol classified as a Carcinogen of Group 1 by the International Cancer Research Agency-is the third major cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and overweight.
Earlier this year, the former US surgeon’s general, calling for a warning label to be placed in alcoholic products, issued a counseling by warning Americans about the strong link between alcohol consumption – and an increased risk of “at least seven types of cancer,” Breast, colon and liver.
In this new study published-the journal of clinical oncology, researchers used data from the global burden of disease to understand how alcohol use contributes to cancer-related deaths.
Their research found that in the US between 1990 and 2021, the total number of alcohol -related cancer deaths was almost doubled, from just less than 12,000 deaths per year to just over 23,000.
“This is a great and disturbing rise. We need to raise awareness of this link between the general population and even in the medical field,” said Sylvester’s hematology and his oncology friend Dr. Chinmay Jani, who led the study.
Jani noted that while there is a widespread awareness of the relationship between tobacco and the increased risk of cancer, there is less recognition of alcohol and cancer.
A 2024 report by the US Association for Cancer Research found that while more than 5% of all cancer cases were caused by alcohol drinking, 51% of Americans are not aware that alcohol increases the risk of cancer.
Researchers reviewed total cancer deaths, as well as alcohol -related consumptions: breast, liver, colorectal, throat, voice, mouth and esophagus cancers.
Jani and his team found that the burden of cancer mortality was particularly high in men 55 or more, whose alcohol -related cancer mortality increased just over 1% each year from 2007 to 2021.
Increasing the mortality rate of alcohol -related cancer is owed almost entirely to an increase among men. In women, rates have actually fallen slightly since 1990.
However, even for cancers with the decline in mortality rates, alcohol -induced proportion for almost all increased between 1990 and 2021, for both men and women.
Among all combined cancers, the percentage of cancer deaths due to alcohol consumption increased by nearly 50% between 1990 and 2021, which means even if factors such as improved examination and treatment are reducing cancer death, alcohol consumption is responsible for a greater percentage of cancer mortality than in the past.
Liver, colorectal and esophageal cancers saw the most important increase in alcohol -related mortality.
At a state level, Texas and Colombia district had the highest levels of cancer mortality associated with alcohol, while Utah had the lowest.
Researchers think that these changes can reflect regional changes in drinking crops, as well as socio -economic inequality and variants in health approach.
According to the general surgeon, alcohol is responsible for 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths every year.
1 in 6 cases of breast cancer can be attributed to alcohol.
There are several ways that drinking can contribute to an increased likelihood of developing cancer.
One is acetaldehyde, a well -known carcinogen that the body creates when it disrupts ethanol in alcohol. This composition damages DNA and prevents cells from repairing damage, allowing cancerous cells to grow.
It can also affect hormones, which affect the way cells grow and divide. When this goes wrong, there is room for cancer development. Moreover, drinking interferes with the body’s ability to absorb nutrients such as iron, selenium, folate and vitamins A, B1, B6, C, D, E, and K.
Excessive alcohol intake can contribute to weight gain, and being overweight or obese has been associated with a higher risk of taking 13 types of cancer, including those in breasts, liver, ovaries, kidneys, thyroid, and rectum.
“We hope that our study will help educate the public on the impact of alcohol on the individual risk of cancer, as this is a potentially modifiable factor,” said Gilberto Lopes, MD, the head of the Sylvester Division of Medical Oncology and the high author of the study.
In addition to reducing or eliminating alcohol consumption, experts recommend other modifiable factors, such as abandonment of tobacco, eating more green, leafy vegetables and whole grains, reducing or eliminating highly elaborate foods, maintaining a healthy body weight and being physically active.
For those who choose to consume alcohol, dietary guidelines of 2020-2025 for Americans suggest restricting getting to no more than one drink per day for women and two drinks a day for men.
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