(HealthDay News) — Alcohol consumption and risky drinking behaviors may be common among cancer survivors and cancer patients currently receiving treatment, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers characterized alcohol consumption patterns in 15,199 participants who reported a cancer diagnosis and 1839 cancer patients receiving treatment.
Among the cancer survivors, 77.7% were current drinkers, including 13.0% who exceeded moderate drinking, 23.8% who reported binge drinking, and 38.3% who engaged in hazardous drinking.
In a multivariate analysis, cancer survivors were more likely to exceed moderate drinking if they were younger than 18 years of age at diagnosis (odds ratio [OR], 1.52; 95% CI, 1.04-2.24), men (OR, 2.38; 95% CI, 2.09-2.72), Hispanic (OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.04-1.64), former smokers (OR, 2.46; 95% CI, 2.16-2.79) or current smokers (OR, 4.14; 95% CI, 3.40-5.04), or younger than 65 years of age (<50 years: OR, 2.90; 95% CI, 2.41-3.48; 50-64 years: OR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.58-2.15).
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Similarly, cancer survivors were more likely to engage in binge drinking if they were younger than 18 years of age at diagnosis (OR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.24-2.35), men (OR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.89-2.34), Hispanic (OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.09-1.58), former smokers (OR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.53-1.87) or current smokers (OR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.91-2.71), or younger than 65 years of age (<50 years: OR, 4.46; 95% CI, 3.85-5.15; 50-64 years: OR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.90-2.43).
Cancer survivors were more likely to engage in hazardous drinking if they were diagnosed before 18 years of age (OR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.11-2.08) or if they were former smokers (OR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.68-1.99) or current smokers (OR, 2.13; 95% CI, 1.79-2.53).
Of the 1839 patients receiving cancer treatment, 76.4% were current drinkers. Of those, 12.1% exceeded moderate drinking, 23.4% engaged in binge drinking, and 38.4% engaged in hazardous drinking. There was a similar prevalence of the various drinking behaviors across different treatments.
“Given the short- and long-term adverse treatment and oncologic outcomes associated with alcohol consumption, additional research and implementation studies are critical to address this emerging concern among cancer survivors,” the researchers wrote.
Two researchers disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.
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