A study by researchers at Queen’s University Belfast, published in June in the journal PLOS Medicine, suggests that people who drink alcohol are at increased risk of developing cancer.

The researchers also found that people who drink only three alcoholic drinks a week have a reduced risk of developing cancer. This risk increases with the addition of one drink a week.

“We expected that occasional drinkers would have a risk similar to that seen in non-drinkers, so the reduced risk found in occasional drinkers was surprising,” says Andrew Kunzmann, a researcher at Queen’s University Belfast. “The reason for the reduced risk in occasional drinkers compared to non-drinkers is still under question.”

The study included results from 99,654 adults in the United States, aged 55 to 74. The data was collected between 1993 and 2001 as part of the US Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial.

Participants completed a questionnaire about their diet and alcohol consumption history and were followed for an average of 8.9 years.

After analyzing the data, the researchers observed that the average lifetime alcohol consumption of the participants was 1.78 drinks per week, with men drinking 4.02, higher than women who drank 0.80.

In both sexes, the risk of cancer was lower in those who drank less than one drink per day.

The study had some limitations, such as the age of the participants, which was over 55, and the data related to alcohol consumption was reported by the participants. However, the results of the study are significant.

“Alcohol increases the risk of several types of cancer, including breast, colorectal, esophageal, liver, throat, and stomach cancer,” says McTiernan, author of 'Starved: A Nutrition Doctor’s Journey from Empty to Full.' “One problem is that they divided men and women based on alcohol consumption, even though women metabolize alcohol differently than men,” he says.

Overall, a better understanding of the health risks of alcohol consumption can help inform people to limit their consumption to prevent various conditions.