Saeid Safiri1,2, Seyed Aria Nejadghaderi2,3, Nahid Karamzad4, Kristin Carson-Chahhoud5,6, Nicola Luigi Bragazzi7, Mark J M Sullman8,9, Amir Almasi-Hashiani10, Mohammad Ali Mansournia11, Gary S Collins12,13, Jay S Kaufman14, Ali-Asghar Kolahi15. 1. Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. 2. Research Center for Integrative Medicine in Aging, Aging Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. 3. Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Expert Group (SRMEG), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran. 4. Nutrition Research Center, Department of Biochemistry and Diet Therapy, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. 5. Australian Centre for Precision Health, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. 6. School of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. 7. Centre for Disease Modelling, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 8. Department of Life and Health Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus. 9. Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus. 10. Department of Epidemiology, School of Health, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran. 11. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 12. Centre for Statistics in Medicine, NDORMS, Botnar Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. 13. NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom. 14. Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 15. Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Alcohol consumption is a risk factor for a number of communicable and non-communicable diseases, including several types of cancer. This article reports the burden of cancers attributable to alcohol consumption by age, sex, location, sociodemographic index (SDI), and cancer type from 1990 to 2019. METHODS: The Comparative Risk Assessment approach was used in the 2019 Global Burden of Disease study to report the burden of cancers attributable to alcohol consumption between 1990 and 2019. RESULTS: In 2019, there were globally an estimated 494.7 thousand cancer deaths (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 439.7 to 554.1) and 13.0 million cancer disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs; 95% UI, 11.6 to 14.5) that were attributable to alcohol consumption. The alcohol-attributable DALYs were much higher in men (10.5 million; 95% UI, 9.2 to 11.8) than women (2.5 million; 95% UI, 2.2 to 2.9). The global age-standardized death and DALY rates of cancers attributable to alcohol decreased by 14.7% (95% UI, 6.4% to 23%) and 18.1% (95% UI, 9.2% to 26.5%), respectively, over the study period. Central Europe had the highest age-standardized death rates that were attributable to alcohol consumption(10.3; 95% UI, 8.7 to12.0). Moreover, there was an overall positive association between SDI and the regional age-standardized DALY rate for alcohol-attributable cancers. CONCLUSIONS: Despite decreases in age-standardized deaths and DALYs, substantial numbers of cancer deaths and DALYs are still attributable to alcohol consumption. Because there is a higher burden in males, the elderly, and developed regions (based on SDI), these groups and regions should be prioritized in any prevention programs.
BACKGROUND: Alcohol consumption is a risk factor for a number of communicable and non-communicable diseases, including several types of cancer. This article reports the burden of cancers attributable to alcohol consumption by age, sex, location, sociodemographic index (SDI), and cancer type from 1990 to 2019. METHODS: The Comparative Risk Assessment approach was used in the 2019 Global Burden of Disease study to report the burden of cancers attributable to alcohol consumption between 1990 and 2019. RESULTS: In 2019, there were globally an estimated 494.7 thousand cancer deaths (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 439.7 to 554.1) and 13.0 million cancer disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs; 95% UI, 11.6 to 14.5) that were attributable to alcohol consumption. The alcohol-attributable DALYs were much higher in men (10.5 million; 95% UI, 9.2 to 11.8) than women (2.5 million; 95% UI, 2.2 to 2.9). The global age-standardized death and DALY rates of cancers attributable to alcohol decreased by 14.7% (95% UI, 6.4% to 23%) and 18.1% (95% UI, 9.2% to 26.5%), respectively, over the study period. Central Europe had the highest age-standardized death rates that were attributable to alcohol consumption(10.3; 95% UI, 8.7 to12.0). Moreover, there was an overall positive association between SDI and the regional age-standardized DALY rate for alcohol-attributable cancers. CONCLUSIONS: Despite decreases in age-standardized deaths and DALYs, substantial numbers of cancer deaths and DALYs are still attributable to alcohol consumption. Because there is a higher burden in males, the elderly, and developed regions (based on SDI), these groups and regions should be prioritized in any prevention programs.