Alcohol Causes 1 in 30 Cancer Deaths in the US

Alcohol Causes 1 in 30 Cancer Deaths in the US

Alcohol use accounted for approximately 3.5% of all cancer deaths in the United States, according to a study that used data from 2009 and was published online February 14 in the American Journal of Public Health.

Alcohol caused about 19,500 cancer deaths, with each alcohol-attributable death resulting in about 18 years of potential life lost, report the study authors, led by David Nelson, MD, MPH, from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.

This is the first comprehensive study of alcohol-attributable cancer deaths in the United States since 1978, according to the authors. The previous study found the related death rate to be about 3%, so the problem could be growing.

“Our findings demonstrate there has been little, if any, progress in reducing alcohol-attributable cancer deaths in the United States,” Dr. Nelson and colleagues write.

The more alcohol a person drinks, the greater the risk for related cancer death, they found. But even low consumption levels are associated with risk. “In sum, there is no apparent threshold when it comes to alcohol and cancer risk,” the authors note.

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