Late-life increases in alcohol consumption among postmenopausal women appear associated with greater breast cancer risk and less coronary heart disease risk

Commentary on: Dam M, Hvidtfeldt U, Tjønneland A, et al.. Five year change in alcohol intake and risk of breast cancer and coronary heart disease among postmenopausal women: prospective cohort study. BMJ 2016;353:i2314 . Context The hypothesis that alcohol consumption leads to reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) has immense clinical and public policy implications. Some meta-analyses of observational epidemiological studies have reported that ‘moderate’ alcohol use significantly reduces CHD risk. However, this has been contested on multiple theoretical and empirical grounds,1–3 including arguments that selection biases operating across the life course contribute to a false appearance of CHD protection. Methods Health outcomes for a cohort of postmenopausal women (n=21 523) with average age 62.2 years at baseline were assessed over 11 years from the Danish hospital, death records and cancer register. This sample comprised women who agreed to be interviewed on...
Source: Evidence-Based Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Tags: Smoking and tobacco, Epidemiologic studies, Drugs: cardiovascular system, Diet, Menopause (including HRT), Ischaemic heart disease, Alcohol, Health education, Smoking Aetiology/harm Source Type: research