HHS HealthBeat (June 16, 2010)

Drinking young; breast cancer later

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

A study indicates girls and teenagers who drink may raise their risks of conditions that could develop into breast cancer. Graham Colditz of Washington University School of Medicine saw it in data on almost 6,900 girls ages 9 to 15 who were followed into adulthood.

Colditz was looking for benign, or non-cancerous, breast lumps. Some may become cancerous, so he considers non-cancerous lumps an indication of risk.

"Women who were drinking six or seven days a week had a fivefold increase in risk of subsequent development of benign breast disease."  (9 seconds)

Those who drank three to five days had a threefold higher risk.

The study in the journal Pediatrics was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: November 21, 2011