Alcohol and Breast Cancer in Young Women

If you drink alcohol you need to consider a new negative consequence of doing so in excess. One study performed by the School of Medicine at the University of Washington, along with a group of researchers in the United States, states that excessive alcohol consumption is directly related to the development of breast cancer in young women.

Risks raised by 34%

The study analyzed information provided by 116,671 nurses, according to medical and reproductive history.  The results found that if one drinks before her first pregnancy, the possibilities of having breast cancer increase by 34%, compared to those that abstain.

This means that is occurs especially in women that are still not mothers, and it is generally found between the age of 25 and 44 years of age, which was the age of the women subjected to evaluation.

According the the explanation provided by the specialists, it is during this period that breast tissue is particularly susceptible to carcinogenic agents, like beer, wine or any other strong liquor. 

In women between 20 and 30 years of age

However, this is not the only study relating breast cancer to excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages.  Another study performed by United States doctors showed in surveys conducted on women 20 to 30 years of age that those that drank one cup of liquor a day from the beginning of their first menstrual period to their first pregnancy, had a 13% higher possibility.

These results were published in the United States National Cancer Institute magazine, based on a survey conducted on 91,005 mothers.

More news from this analysis was that an additional cup a day could increase the risk of suffering from a proliferating benign breast disease by 15%.

Excessive consumption

As you already know, if you consume socially, once a week, at an occasional party, you don’t need to worry.  You should worry if alcohol has become an addiction, if you use it as refuge to forget about things or to calm your nerves, depression, loneliness, among other emotional needs.

If you feel like you fall into this category, see a specialist.  Alcoholism is a disease that can be cured with rehabilitation.  And remember, this is only one of the consequences, other are more terrible, which we will list below:

Physical and physiological consequences

– Cirrhosis: This is one of the most severe effects caused by excessive alcohol consumption.  Cirrhosis damages the liver to the point of it no longer working.  Currently it is one of the primary causes of death worldwide.

– Alcohol induced coma: this occurs after drinks a lot.  The individual looses consciousness, could vomit and even drown in his/her own vomit.

– Cardiovascular problems: increase in blood pressure and heart problems.

– Polyneuritis: painful inflammation of the nerves.

– Pancreatitis

– Stomach cancer

– Throat cancer

– Larynx cancer

– Esophageal cancer

– Gastric ulcers

– Sexual impotence in men

– Coldness in women

– Abstinence syndrome in babies

– Premature aging

Psychic Consequences

– Unrecoverable memory lapses

– Depression

– Epilepsy

– delirium tremens

– Severe mental diseases, like psychosis

–  Alcohol-induced dementia

– Suicide

– Jealousy: individuals may become so insecure that they begin to mistrust their partner, and become jealous for no real reason.

This doesn’t even consider the other social consequences, like rejection, being fired from work, loneliness, marital separations.  Think good and hard about it before you fall into this deteriorating addictive cycle.

Revised by: Dra. Loredana Lunadei on 08/30/2018

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