Teen Girls Drinking Alcohol at Higher Risk of Breast Cancer

Drinking alcohol during teens and early adulthood increases risk of breast cancer in women, a new study reported.

Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis said that they have found a link between alcohol consumption in early age and breast cancer later in life. Previous research had usually assessed alcohol consumption in women mid or post-childbearing years. The current study shows that teen girls who drink excess amounts of alcohol might be at a greater risk of breast cancer.

About 25 percent of youth aged between 12 and 20 years reported drinking alcohol and about 16 percent said that they binge drink, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health ( 2011).

"More and more heavy drinking is occurring on college campuses and during adolescence, and not enough people are considering future risk. But, according to our research, the lesson is clear: If a female averages a drink per day between her first period and her first full-term pregnancy, she increases her risk of breast cancer by 13 percent," said Graham Colditz, MD,  from Washington University School of Medicine and co-author of the study.

For every shot of liquor or glass of wine that is consumed daily, the risk of proliferative benign breast disease climbs by 15 percent. These lesions on their own are noncancerous, but they can increase the risk of breast cancer by as much as 500 percent, researchers found.

"Parents should educate their daughters about the link between drinking and risk of breast cancer and breast disease," she said. "That's very important because this time period is very critical." Ying Liu, MD, a School of Medicine instructor in the Division of Public Health Sciences and one of the authors said in a news release.

Women drinking higher amounts of alcohol put their health in greater risk than men, according to The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Women weigh less than men and have lower water quantity, which raises their risk of being exposed to negative effects of alcohol.

The present study was based on data obtained from over 91,000 women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study II from 1989 to 2009.

Breast tissues are vulnerable to any changes in the environment during adolescent years when they start proliferating rapidly. The time-frame between the first menstrual period and first full-time pregnancy adds to this risk. According to researchers, young girls must minimize their alcohol consumption during this critical period to lower risk of breast cancer in the future.

The study is published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.