Behavioral Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland.
Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2023 Jan 9;32(1):46-53. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-22-0420.
Alcohol is a leading risk factor for cancer, yet awareness of the alcohol-cancer link is low. Awareness may be influenced by perceptions of potential health benefits of alcohol consumption or certain alcoholic beverage types. The purpose of this study was to estimate awareness of the alcohol-cancer link by beverage type and to examine the relationship between this awareness and concomitant beliefs about alcohol and heart disease risk.
We analyzed data from the 2020 Health Information National Trends Survey 5 Cycle 4, a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults.
Awareness of the alcohol-cancer link was highest for liquor (31.2%), followed by beer (24.9%) and wine (20.3%). More U.S. adults believed wine (10.3%) decreased cancer risk, compared with beer (2.2%) and liquor (1.7%). Most U.S. adults (>50%) reported not knowing how these beverages affected cancer risk. U.S. adults believing alcoholic beverages increased heart disease risk had higher adjusted predicted probabilities of being aware of the alcohol-cancer link (wine: 58.6%; beer: 52.4%; liquor: 59.4%) compared with those unsure (wine: 6.0%; beer: 8.6%; liquor: 13.2%), or believing alcoholic beverages reduced (wine: 16.2%; beer: 21.6%; liquor: 23.8%) or had no effect on heart disease risk (wine: 10.2%; beer: 12.0%; liquor: 16.9%).
Awareness of the alcohol-cancer link was low, varied by beverage type, and was higher among those recognizing that alcohol use increased heart disease risk.
These findings underscore the need to educate U.S. adults about the alcohol-cancer link, including raising awareness that drinking all alcoholic beverage types increases cancer risk. See related commentary by Hay et al., p. 9.
酒精是癌症的主要风险因素，但人们对酒精与癌症之间的联系认识不足。人们对饮酒可能带来潜在健康益处的看法，或对某些酒类的看法，可能会影响到对这种联系的认识。本研究旨在按酒类类型估计对酒精与癌症之间联系的认识，并研究这种认识与同时对酒精和心脏病风险的看法之间的关系。
我们分析了美国成年人全国代表性调查——2020 年健康信息国家趋势调查 5 周期 4 的数据。
对酒精与癌症之间联系的认识，烈酒最高（31.2%），其次是啤酒（24.9%）和葡萄酒（20.3%）。与啤酒（2.2%）和烈酒（1.7%）相比，更多的美国成年人认为葡萄酒（10.3%）降低了癌症风险。大多数美国成年人（>50%）表示不知道这些饮料对癌症风险有何影响。认为酒精饮料会增加心脏病风险的美国成年人，对酒精与癌症之间联系的认识程度较高（葡萄酒：58.6%；啤酒：52.4%；烈酒：59.4%），而不确定的成年人（葡萄酒：6.0%；啤酒：8.6%；烈酒：13.2%），或认为酒精饮料降低（葡萄酒：16.2%；啤酒：21.6%；烈酒：23.8%）或对心脏病风险没有影响（葡萄酒：10.2%；啤酒：12.0%；烈酒：16.9%）的可能性较低。
对酒精与癌症之间联系的认识程度较低，因酒类类型而异，而那些认识到饮酒会增加心脏病风险的人则对这种联系的认识程度较高。
这些发现强调了有必要对美国成年人进行有关酒精与癌症之间联系的教育，包括提高人们对饮用所有类型的酒精饮料都会增加癌症风险的认识。详见 Hay 等人的相关评论，第 9 页。
