Experts say alcohol is an underestimated cancer risk factor which can cause various types of cancers. According to a new study, from 1991 to 2019, an impressive 33% decline in cancer-related fatalities in the United States indicated 4.1 million deaths saved.
Perhaps most staggering, a study published recently in the American Association for Cancer Research found that deaths from cancer in Americans between 1991 and 2021 have declined an astonishing 33%.
This decline, tied to better early detection, treatment, and lower rates of smoking, may have conserved 4.1 million lives over the last three decades. In young people aged, cancer death rates have also declined by 24% over the last two decades.
The report revealed that there is a reduction in the death cases that are cancerous; however, alcohol consumption is an essential risk factor yet little-known cancer risk factor has been brought to the limelight.
It has been proven to cause six cancer types, among which include colon, liver, and breast cancers. Alcohol use was associated with 5.4% of all cancer cases in the United States in 2019.
Even Dr. Céline Gounder, one of the expert professionals, claims that beyond three drinks a day for women and four for men can increase the risk of cancer for them and warns that there is no safe amount of alcohol, not for those at least who have health issues already.
Several strategies are proposed to reduce the risk of cancer in the future. This is through measures including implementing warning labels on alcohol products, public health education campaigns aimed at informing the citizenry on alcohol and its link to cancer.
Apart from alcohol, there are more lifestyle-related factors that can be modified for instance nutrition, physical inactivity, and smoking, which may still become a useful tool in preventing cancers.
