Risk of pancreatic cancer by alcohol dose, duration, and pattern of consumption, including binge drinking: a population-based study

Cancer Causes Control. 2010 Jul;21(7):1047-59. doi: 10.1007/s10552-010-9533-6. Epub 2010 Mar 27.

Abstract

Alcohol consumption is postulated to be a risk factor for pancreatic cancer (PCA), but clarification of degree of risk related to consumption characteristics is lacking. We examined the association between alcohol consumption and PCA in a population-based case-control study (532 cases, 1,701 controls) in the San Francisco Bay Area. Population-based controls were frequency-matched by sex, age within 5-year categories and county of residence to cases identified by the cancer registry's rapid case ascertainment. Detailed alcohol consumption data, including binge drinking (>or=5 drinks/day), were collected during in-person interviews. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were computed using adjusted unconditional logistic regression. Depending on dose, duration, and pattern of drinking, ORs were increased 1.5- to 6-fold among men but not women. In men, ORs increased with increasing overall alcohol consumption (22-35 drinks/week OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.1-4.0; >or=35 drinks/week OR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.3-5.1, p-trend = 0.04). Most notable were effects with a history of binge drinking (OR = 3.5, 95% CI = 1.6-7.5) including increased number of drinks per day (p-trend = 0.002), and increased years of binge drinking (p-trend = 0.0006). In fully adjusted models that included smoking and other confounders, ORs for binge drinking in men were somewhat higher than in age-adjusted models. Results from our detailed analyses provide support for heavy alcohol consumption (including binge drinking) as a risk factor for PCA in men.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Alcohol Drinking / adverse effects*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Central Nervous System Depressants / poisoning
  • Ethanol / poisoning*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Logistic Models
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Odds Ratio
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / epidemiology
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / etiology*
  • Population Surveillance
  • Risk Assessment
  • Risk Factors
  • San Francisco / epidemiology
  • Sex Factors
  • Smoking / adverse effects
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Central Nervous System Depressants
  • Ethanol