A new Australian study highlights how alcohol affects health over many years.
The research does not focus on individuals but examines entire populations over time.
This offers a different perspective from previous studies, which have often covered shorter time periods.
According to the researchers, the long-term effects are particularly decisive. The connection only becomes truly clear when several decades are considered together.
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Risk increases with age
The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, explains that alcohol is a significant contributing factor to deaths from several types of cancer.
These include cancers of the liver, bowel, breast, and the upper airways and digestive tract.
Researchers from La Trobe University emphasize that the effect is strongest among people over the age of 50.
Older generations in Australia have generally had higher levels of alcohol consumption than younger ones, and this is reflected in mortality figures.
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At the same time, as the population ages, the overall risk profile changes.
What reduced consumption means
The study also examines what happens when alcohol consumption declines.
A reduction of one liter of pure alcohol per person per year, equivalent to a few drinks per week, is associated with fewer deaths from several different types of cancer.
According to the researchers, this shows that even limited changes in daily habits can have an effect when they occur at the population level and over a long period.
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From research to prevention
The researchers point to well-known measures such as alcohol taxes, restrictions on sales, and rules governing marketing.
The World Health Organization (WHO) maintains that no level of alcohol consumption is without cancer risk.
The study therefore forms part of a broader debate on prevention and public health.
Sources: Medical Xpress, British Journal of Cancer, and WHO.
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