Abstract
We assessed the association between frequency of heavy binge drinking and mortality from oropharynx and esophagus cancer after controlling for the total volume of alcohol intake among Korean men. The cohort comprised 2,677 male residents in Kangwha County, aged 55 or older in March 1985, for their upper digestive tract cancer mortality for 20.8 years up to December 31, 2005. For daily binge drinkers versus non-drinkers, the hazard ratios (95% Cls) for mortality were 4.82 (1.36, 17.1) and 6.75 (1.45, 31.4) for oropharyngeal and esophageal cancers, respectively. Even after adjusting for the volume of alcohol intake, we found the hazard ratios for frequency of binge drinking and mortality of oropharyngeal or esophageal cancer to not change appreciably: the hazard ratios were 4.90 (1.00, 27.0) and 7.17 (1.02, 50.6), respectively. For esophageal cancer, there was a strong dose-response relationship. The frequency of heavy binge drinking and not just the volume of alcohol intake may increase the risk of mortality from upper digestive tract cancer, particularly esophageal cancer in Korean men. These findings need to be confirmed in further studies with a larger sample size.
Highlights
Excessive alcohol consumption causes 75,000 deaths each year in the United States, and it is the third leading preventable cause of death
We examined the association of heavy binge drinking frequency with the mortality of upper digestive tract cancer after controlling the total volume of alcohol intake among Korean men through over 20.8-years followed-up of the Kangwha cohort data
Our study showed that binge drinking was associated with risks of mortality from the oropharyngeal and esophageal cancers
Summary
Excessive alcohol consumption causes 75,000 deaths each year in the United States, and it is the third leading preventable cause of death. Alcohol consumption has been associated with risks of upper digestive tract cancer, liver cancer and colon cancer as well as breast cancer (Gronbaek et al, 1998; Seitz et al, 1998; La Vecchia, 2007; Bongaerts et al, 2008; Fan et al, 2008; Yi et al, 2010). There have been few attempts as yet at cohort studies of the association between binge drinking and upper digestive tract cancer mortality. We examined the association of heavy binge drinking frequency with the mortality of upper digestive tract cancer after controlling the total volume of alcohol intake among Korean men through over 20.8-years followed-up of the Kangwha cohort data
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