Moderate drinking increases cancer risk while offering few benefits

Among both men and women, drinking just one alcoholic beverage a day increases the risk of liver cirrhosis, esophageal cancer, oral cancer and various types of injuries, according to the study. federal analysis of alcohol’s health effects was released on Tuesday.

At this level of drinking, women have a higher risk of liver cancer but a lower risk of diabetes. And while one alcoholic drink a day also reduces the likelihood of stroke caused by blood clots in both men and women, the report found, even massive drinking occasionally negates the benefits.

The report, prepared by an outside science panel under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services, is one of two competing assessments that will be used to shape the influential U.S. Dietary Guidelines, which are scheduled to be updated this year.

For decades, the government has recommended a limit of two standard alcoholic drinks a day for men and one for women.

In December, a review of data by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine confirmed this view: found that moderate drinking was associated with fewer deaths from heart attacks and strokesand fewer deaths overall compared to not drinking.

But some experts worry that the harms of moderate drinking are underestimated, especially the risk of cancer, which is the leading cause of death among people under 85, according to the American Cancer Society.

In 2020, when the dietary guidelines were last reviewed, scientific advisers suggested lowering the recommendation to one drink a day for both men and women. This advice did not appear in the final guidance.

An analysis by the National Academies linked women’s moderate alcohol consumption to a diminutive but significant raise in breast cancer rates, but concluded there was insufficient evidence to link alcohol to other cancers.

But this month, the U.S. Surgeon General, citing mounting scientific evidence, called for alcohol labels to include cancer warnings similar to those found on cigarettes. The report released Tuesday found that an increased risk of cancer is associated with drinking any amount of alcohol and increases as more alcohol is consumed.

Drinking is associated with a higher risk of death from seven types of cancer, including breast, colon, liver, and mouth, throat, larynx and esophagus.

The report found that both men and women are susceptible to these harmful health effects, but women have a much higher risk of developing drinking-related cancer.

“Among the U.S. population, the risk of death from alcohol consumption begins at low levels of average alcohol consumption,” the report says. “Higher levels of alcohol consumption are associated with a progressively increasing risk of mortality.”

The risk of dying from an alcohol-related disease is 1 in 1,000 for people who drink more than seven drinks a week. The risk increases to one in 100 if consumption exceeds nine drinks a week.

This article will be updated.