Time trends in colo-rectal cancer mortality in relation to food and alcohol consumption: United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

Recent epidemiologically and experimental research has implicated dietary factors, including alcoholic drinks, in cancers of the colon and rectum. Analysis of time trends in cancer mortality since 1921, in the United States, England and Wales, Australia, and New Zealand, in relation to changes in per capita consumption of foodstuffs and alcohol reveals some support for the protective effect of fibre, but an inconsistent role for fat and meat in colon cancer. For rectal cancer, and to a lesser extent colon cancer, the most consistent correlate in comparisons across time, and between place, sex, and age-group, is beer consumption. Possible reasons for this correlation within this data set are discussed.