According to a recent study published in the May issue of Pediatrics magazine, teenage girls and young adult women who consume one alcoholic drink a day may increase their risk of developing breast changes that can lead to cancer. The study followed more than 29,000 females and found that for every 10 grams of alcohol consumed, these women increased their risk of proliferative benign breast disease by 15 percent.
“It’s clear that this study shows that late adolescent alcohol [drinking] drives up the risk of these preliminary benign changes in the breast,” said Dr. Graham Colditz, a professor of surgery and associate director for prevention and control at the Siteman Cancer Center of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
“The risk is substantial,” Colditz said. The good news? Young women who are aware of the link can change their behavior, he said.
This isn’t the first time a link between alcohol and breast cancer has been found. According to the American Cancer Society, adult women who drink two to five alcoholic drinks a day have 1.5 times the risk of breast cancer compared to nondrinkers.