Cancer Deaths Attributable to Alcohol Rose 58% Over the Last 33 Years (cnn.com)
- Reference: 0185437422
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/09/05/0529236/cancer-deaths-attributable-to-alcohol-rose-58-over-the-last-33-years
- Source link: https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/03/health/alcohol-impact-cancer-deaths-wellness
> "While it's true that overall cancer mortality has declined, we found the percentage of cancer deaths proportionally attributable to alcohol rose over 58% in people 20 and older over the last 33 years," said the study's first author Dr. Chinmay Jani... It didn't take much alcohol to raise one's risk — about one standard drink a day, every day, Jani said. In the US, a standard drink is 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor...
>
> Alcohol is ethanol or ethyl alcohol, which is broken down by the liver into acetaldehyde, a " [2]probable human carcinogen ," the National Cancer Institute states on its website. While the liver will further break down acetaldehyde into a harmless molecule called acetate, the process isn't foolproof: acetaldehyde [3]may damage DNA and interfere with DNA repair before conversion into acetate is complete. Alcohol also contributes to oxidative stress, which damages DNA, proteins and cell function and creates inflammation. Drinking alcohol also weakens the cells in the mouth and throat, making them more susceptible to carcinogens. That's even more likely to occur with smoking cigarettes, a major source of acetaldehyde. In addition, alcohol interferes with the break down and absorption of key nutrients thought to decrease cancer risk — vitamins A, C, D and E as well as folates in the vitamin B complex, according to the National Cancer Institute.
>
> The study, which was [4]published Monday in The Lancet Regional Health — Americas journal, analyzed more than three decades of US data gathered for the Global Burden of Disease Study. The GBD study is a [5]massive scientific effort to measure health, mortality and disabilities from hundreds of risk factors, diseases and conditions in more than 200 countries and territories. Between 1990 and 2023, the total number of yearly alcohol-linked cancer deaths more than doubled, rising from 11,361 to 23,126 in the US.
>
> Men and adults age 55 and older experienced the greatest impact; alcohol-related cancer mortality rate in older males climbed nearly 24% over the 33-year period. For men, liver cancer deaths showed the strongest link to alcohol, followed by esophageal and colorectal cancers. For women 55 and older, breast cancer was the top killer, followed by liver and colorectal cancers.
[1] https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/03/health/alcohol-impact-cancer-deaths-wellness
[2] http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/alcohol/alcohol-fact-sheet
[3] https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/expert-qa/alcohol-and-cancer-risk
[4] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanam/article/PIIS2667-193X(26)00229-2/fulltext
[5] https://www.healthdata.org/research-analysis/about-gbd
Even your body wants to kill you (Score:3)
Alcohol is ethanol or ethyl alcohol, which is broken down by the liver into acetaldehyde, a "probable human carcinogen," the National Cancer Institute states on its website.
That saying about living will give you cancer is so true.
Re: (Score:2)
> Pretty sure, the potential carcinogen issue only affects certain people... if not, why are there people who've smoked and drank their whole lives and not gotten a thing?
> From what I've gathered, it all boils down to the length of ones telomeres. Telomeres are protective DNA at the end of chromosomes and act as a shield from incorrect instructions being inserted into the blueprints of a cell. They will slowly breakdown as a person ages and once they are no longer viable that is when a cell can start to produce mutations and in time cancer. The length of telomeres is genetically linked and there is no way to make them longer from what I have read. So it is possible that somebody who has very long telomeres is able to smoke or drink their entire lives and not end up with cancer because their telomeres were protecting cellular replication.
Re: (Score:1)
Yes like 55% of male centenarians drink alcohol so like you said we are built different some people just have better genetics
Re: (Score:2)
The tests used to determine if something is a "potential" carcinogen have never been validated. There is no real evidence that the results correlate with risk at real world levels of exposure. There is a short list of known carcinogens that have been shown to cause cancer in humans like inhaled asbestos and N-nitrosodimethylamine. Interestingly, you can legally be exposed to N-nitrosodimetylamine as long as the levels are below 1 ppm.
Re: (Score:2)
> Pretty sure, the potential carcinogen issue only affects certain people... if not, why are there people who've smoked and drank their whole lives and not gotten a thing?
You've answered your own question. There's a reason these studies compare populations of cohorts and not individuals. For example, Group A may have people who have at least one drink a day, whereas Group B has people who drink less than that or not at all. If the two groups are otherwise unbiased in their composition, then any effect alcohol consumption has on cancer could show up in those individuals who are predisposed. Statistics can determine the significance of the difference, if any.
> Now, if it was shown through science that smoking or drinking or handling circuit boards or touching the plastic remote for your TV or being in the sunlight gave you cancer (like anyone of those things always causes cancer, guaranteed), I'll believe it...
In the case of smo
Re: (Score:2)
Living will also cause your penis to fall off, depending on how you live.
Somehow, it's still a concern for me.
Re: (Score:1)
Nope. You are projecting hard.
Re: (Score:2)
> Nope.
you just literally put MAGA in a subject for a comment about medical research.
> You are projecting hard.
and now you are denying and dismissing. i mean this in a good way, not wanting to be derisive. gp is right, you do have a nice working brain and you should acknowledge it (at least in private, internally, ideally reflect on it). and i don't give a fuck about either extreme of us political polarization except for seeing the polarization itself as a symptom of a society in serious and increasing distress. you guys need to stop and r
brick and mortar words (Score:2)
> if you're an american and you dont think so
> then you are at best an appeaser or collaborator
qed.
> its a strategy
and you adhere to it, it would seem ...
Whiskey manufactured in a dry county (Score:2)
> So, what is the MAGA position on alcohol?
Whiskey manufactured in a dry county.
Whiskey manufactured locally without paying any taxes.
;-)
Re: (Score:2)
MAGA loves their alcohol [1]so long as it's not a brand being promoted by a trans influencer. [bbc.com]
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66398296
Alcohol causes cancer? (Score:2)
I'll drink to that!
Missing some context (Score:4, Interesting)
Did alcohol consumption increase to match the increased cancer rates? I thought that in general, alcohol consumption was down.
Re: (Score:2)
Overall it is but I think among older people heavy drinking has gone up. So the numbers are probably because you've got more people drinking heavily in their old age when they really need to be cutting back or stopping entirely even though overall drinking is way down because young people don't drink very much
Re: (Score:2)
I suspect that the relationship is not linear in a case like this: cancer tends to be a big issue for otherwise healthy-ish people because a lot of varieties of it take some time to develop; either chronic exposure to whatever the carcinogen of concern is or some time after the exposure when your luck with the mechanisms that suppress abnormal cell division eventually fails, or both.
There is probably a part of the graph that is mostly linear, nondrinkers to very light drinkers to light-ish drinkers; but
Re: (Score:3)
> Did alcohol consumption increase to match the increased cancer rates? I thought that in general, alcohol consumption was down.
[1]https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/... [www.cbc.ca]
[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/gen-z-adults-drinkin-myths-9.7324161
Re: (Score:2)
It's up and down when you're looking at the COVID-affected period of 2020 to present. Like many things.
Like those other things, it's best to draw a straight line from the 2019 datapoint to the 2026 datapoint, and ignore the points in between. Smooths out the noise in the signal and gives you a better picture of the long-term trend.
For me personally, my alcohol consumption spiked in 2020-21 then decreased through the next few years, and by 2025 I had mostly stopped due to liver readings being off on the annu
Re: (Score:2)
Airbags, crumple zones.
"Modern cars cause cancer" coming next year.
Question ? (Score:2)
Why just the last 33 years ? Alcohol use has gone down in that period, surely we drink less than our drunken ancestors. Why the sudden spike in cancer ? Is it an ability to measure that has increased, or could it be that corporate liquor has begun using fillers and dyes that are having a detrimental effect on us, but providing a healthy profit for our corporate overlords ?
I AM paranoid, but they ARE after me, so it all balances nicely.
I gave it my all.. (Score:2)
I really have it the old college try. My liver - and all of my other organs - ultimately forgave my transgressions. We'll see what my brain says when I'm in my 60s, but... cross that bridge.
Re: (Score:1)
> but... cross that bridge.
As Ted Kennedy once said, *I'll drive off that bridge when I get to it.*
Re: (Score:2)
> I really have it the old college try. My liver - and all of my other organs - ultimately forgave my transgressions. We'll see what my brain says when I'm in my 60s, but... cross that bridge
Yup...I'm getting up there in years...past 50's.
I wouldn't trade a second of my years having drinks with friends...at bars at homes...home brewing together, etc.
And we were smoking back in the day for most of it too....sure, not good for you, but we sure looked cool.
;P
Sure, years are catching up....but would you rat
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
It is possible to make friends over other common interests that don't involve drinking. I never cared for alcohol; it just gives me a headache and every drink just tastes like varying degrees of trying to have a beverage while fitting PVC pipes. I made friends over things like gaming, going fishing, the theme parks (yeah, that's a central Florida thing), and the maker scene.
I'd venture a guess that the reason younger folks aren't doing as much drinking is that social media apps have made it a lot easier t
Re: (Score:1)
lecturing others about living up to your standards -stay classy
Re: (Score:1)
Actually I'd posit that young folks today have more mental problems, more loneliness....and NOT getting laid problems more than my generation is precisely due to lack of alcohol....we used to call it "conversation lubrication".
It loosed up women and gave a bit more confidence to men.
I know you're gay, so likely not a 1:1 analogy in your life.
But, social media and lack of booze, I think IMHO...have ruined a LOT in society.
Is it a poison? Yes.
Is it without problems it causes? No
But you look largely at
Re: I gave it my all.. (Score:1)
Since we have clearly moved into "get off my lawn" territory I agree with your conclusion. I am more age challenged than you and do not see as many younger people having genuine experiences that do not involve guidelines. Alcohol blurred some of those, sometimes for the worse, but the experiences were memorable. I drink less now but have no regrets for the good times I had when it was more.