Changes in alcohol consumption and the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: PURPOSE: Alcohol consumption is a cause of breast cancer (BC), yet the association between changes in alcohol consumption during adulthood and the risk of BC has been examined little. This study aimed to investigate the association between midlife changes in alcohol consumption and the risk of BC. METHODS: Within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort including 123,679 women, changes in alcohol intake were obtained by comparing middle-aged participants' alcohol intake assessed at recruitment and during follow-up, 9.8 years (median) later. Missing information about follow-up alcohol intake and covariates was multiple imputed. In the primary analysis, changes in alcohol consumption were investigated continuously as a change in alcohol intake of 10 g/day, calculated by subtracting the baseline intake (g/day) from the follow-up intake (g/day) and divided by 10 in relation to the risk of subsequent postmenopausal BC, overall, and by hormonal receptor status: estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). In a secondary analysis, changes in alcohol intake were categorized in nine combinations of three intake groups at baseline and follow-up (≤1 g/day, >1-8 g/day, and >8 g/day)., Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: During a median follow-up time of 4.0 years after the follow-up assessment, 2,173 cases of postmenopausal BC were diagnosed. No associations were observed between alcohol changes and BC risk (HR: 0.97, 95% CI 0.93, 1.01) per 10 g/day nor with ER-/PR-, ER+/PR, ER+/PR+, HER2-, or HER2+ specific BC. CONCLUSION: Changes in alcohol consumption during midlife were not associated with the risk of postmenopausal BC, either overall or by hormonal receptor status.
Source: European Journal of Nutrition
Authors: Christian S. Antoniussen, Daniel B. Ibsen, Anja Olsen, Kim Overvad, Fanélie Vasson, Gianluca Severi, Dzevka Dragic, Thérèse Truong, Renée T. Fortner, Charlotte Le Cornet, Matthias B. Schulze, Chiara Di Girolamo, Valeria Pala, Chiara Doccioli, Antonio Agudo, Marcela Guevara, Sandar Tin Tin, Isobel G. Jackson, Marc J. Gunter, Laure Dossus, Pietro Ferrari, Christina C. Dahm
Institutions: Aarhus University, University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University Hospital, Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Danish Cancer Society, Centre international de recherche sur le cancer, Inserm, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Institut Gustave Roussy, Centre de recherche en Epidémiologie et Santé des Populations, University of Florence, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, German Cancer Research Center, Cancer Registry of Norway, University of Potsdam, German Institute of Human Nutrition, University of Turin, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Institut d'Investigació Biomédica de Bellvitge, Institut Català d'Oncologia, Instituto de Salud Pública de Navarra, Navarre Institute of Health Research, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, University of Oxford, Imperial College London
Language: English
Subfield: Pathology and Forensic Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,890
OpenAlex ID: W7165143633