Alcohol consumption over time and risk of lymphoid malignancies in the California Teachers Study cohort.
Several previous studies found inverse associations between alcohol consumption and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and multiple myeloma. However, most studies were retrospective, and few distinguished former drinkers or infrequent drinkers from consistent nondrinkers. Therefore, the authors investigated whether history of alcohol drinking affected risks of NHL and multiple myeloma among 102,721 eligible women in the California Teachers Study, a prospective cohort study in which 496 women were diagnosed with B-cell NHL and 101 were diagnosed with multiple myeloma between 1995-1996 and December 31, 2007. Incidence rate ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regression. Risk of all types of B-cell NHL combined or multiple myeloma was not associated with self-reported past consumption of alcohol, beer, wine, or liquor at ages 18-22 years, at ages 30-35 years, or during the year before baseline. NHL subtypes were inconsistently associated with alcohol intake. However, women who were former alcohol drinkers at baseline were at elevated risk of overall B-cell NHL (rate ratio = 1.46, 95% confidence interval: 1.08, 1.97) and follicular lymphoma (rate ratio = 1.81, 95% confidence interval: 1.00, 3.28). The higher risk among former drinkers emphasizes the importance of classifying both current and past alcohol consumption and suggests that factors related to quitting drinking, rather than alcohol itself, may increase B-cell NHL risk.
Cancer Prevention Institute of California, 2201 Walnut Avenue, Suite 300, Fremont, CA 94538, USA. ellen@cpic.org
Ellen T
ET
Chang
Christina A
CA
Clarke
Alison J
AJ
Canchola
Yani
Y
Lu
Sophia S
SS
Wang
Giske
G
Ursin
Dee W
DW
West
Leslie
L
Bernstein
Pamela L
PL
Horn-Ross
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult