Differences in eating schedules and the risk of cardiovascular disease

 Work often requires people to adjust their eating patterns during the week, resulting in differences in eating schedules between weekdays and weekends or days off—when meal timing tends to be more closely aligned with their internal biological clocks. This shift, known as eating jetlag, may disrupt the body’s biological rhythm. Previous studies have already shown that disruptions to the biological clock linked to night work or late mealtimes can lead to cardiovascular complications.

The research team chose to assess the link between eating jetlag and the risk of cardiovascular disease within the NutriNet-Santé cohort. They analysed data from 104,806 adult NutriNet-Santé participants between 2009 and 2023. The severity of eating jetlag was calculated based on the timing of participants’ first and last meals of the day on weekdays and weekends. The association between eating jetlag and the risk of cardiovascular disease was assessed using appropriate statistical models, which also took into account other factors such as age, marital status and the number of children living in the household, socio-occupational factors, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, diet, sleep, etc. By comparing meal timing on weekdays and weekends, the researchers classified eating jetlag according to the magnitude of the difference into three categories:

• ‘Advance’, where mealtimes are earlier at the weekend than on weekdays, with an average of 2 hours’ advance in the eating window;
• ‘Regular’, where the eating windows are similar;
• ‘Delay’, where mealtimes are later at the weekend than on weekdays, with an average delay of 1 hour 40 minutes in the eating window.

Eating jetlag associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease in men

For men, the results suggest that each additional hour of eating jetlag—be it earlier or later—is associated with an average 14% increased risk of cardiovascular disease and an average 21% increased risk of coronary heart disease. Both the ‘Advance’ and ‘Delay’ groups showed a higher risk compared with the ‘Regular’ group. The researchers did not find any significant difference among women. Several hypotheses may account for this finding. The first relates to sexual dimorphism, that is, differences in physiological functioning between the two biological sexes. The second relates to differences in lifestyle and socio-occupational circumstances between women and men in society, which could lead to different circadian rhythms. Finally, the absolute risk of cardiovascular disease is higher in men. 

This initial study suggests that changes in mealtimes between weekdays and weekends may play a role in the development of cardiovascular disease, regardless of sleep and diet, particularly in men. Further studies are needed to build on this initial observational study and establish the causality of these links.

A few years ago, we suggested that eating late was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. This new study suggests that, beyond simply eating late, maintaining consistent meal times between weekdays and weekends may be just as important. These associations appear to be independent of how long people sleep, suggesting that regular meal times could, in themselves, help resynchronise our biological rhythm. We are continuing our research to better understand this phenomenon.”
Bernard Srour, Research Director at INRAE

The body reacts to a plant-based diet by adjusting to replacing missing proteins

 A new peer-reviewed review published in the journal Biology argues that much of the debate over whether plant-based diets deliver enough iron, protein, creatine, and other nutrients rests on a flawed assumption: that eating less of something automatically means the body has less of it available. Drawing on human intervention and observational studies across five biological systems, the review concludes that the body actively adapts to sustained dietary change, absorbing iron more efficiently, synthesizing more of its own creatine and carnosine, using protein more economically, and remodeling gut bacteria to better ferment fiber, and that these adaptations, not just intake numbers, determine long-term nutritional status.

The review was co-authored by Hana Kahleova, MD, PhD, director of clinical research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, alongside lead author Miguel López-Moreno of the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria in Madrid and colleagues from the University of British Columbia, the University of Granada, and the Instituto de Investigación Nutricional in Lima.

“For years, nutrition science has treated dietary intake as if it were a straight line to physiological status—eat less iron, absorb less iron; eat less creatine, have less creatine,” said Dr. Kahleova. “That's not how human physiology works. The body is not a passive pipe. When intake changes and stays changed, regulatory systems like the hepcidin-ferroportin axis in the gut, or the enzymes that make our own creatine and carnosine, adjust to hold function steady. As a clinician, I see this in my patients: The digestive symptoms that come with a new plant-based diet in week one are rarely the same story at month three, and a single blood draw or a single test meal doesn't tell you what a person's physiology looks like after they've actually adapted.”

The review synthesizes evidence across five areas where plant-based diets are most often flagged as “nutrients of concern”:

Iron. Vegans and vegetarians rely on less efficiently absorbed non-heme iron, but longer-term studies show the gut compensates by absorbing a greater fraction of it, partly explained by lower circulating hepcidin, the hormone that gates iron absorption. Total iron intake among vegetarians and vegans is also often as high as, or higher than, that of omnivores, since staple plant foods such as legumes, whole grains, and fortified cereals are iron-dense.

Creatine and carnosine. These compounds, found almost exclusively in animal foods, are also made by the body from amino acid precursors. Vegetarians run lower baseline muscle stores but generally maintain normal function and respond more robustly to creatine supplementation when it's used, evidence the authors say reflects lower baseline saturation rather than deficiency.

Protein. Well-planned plant-based diets that meet total protein recommendations preserve lean mass and strength comparably to omnivorous diets in controlled trials.

Fermentable fiber. Early bloating and gas from a higher-fiber diet typically ease over weeks as gut bacteria shift toward taxa that ferment complex carbohydrates more efficiently, a pattern documented since early controlled feeding studies of legume consumption.

Polyphenols. Gut bacteria convert plant compounds, from soy isoflavones to walnut ellagitannins, into more bioactive metabolites; long-term vegans show markedly higher levels of several of these microbial byproducts than people eating a standard omnivorous diet.

The authors are careful to note that adaptation has limits. Pregnancy, chronic inflammation, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, and severe or prolonged dietary insufficiency can all outpace the body's regulatory capacity, which is why the review calls for individualized counseling rather than either blanket reassurance or blanket concern.

“This isn't an argument that nutrient composition doesn't matter, it clearly does, especially for patients whose adaptive capacity is already stretched thin,” Dr. Kahleova said. “It's an argument for asking a better clinical question: not just what is this person eating, but how long have they been eating this way, and does their physiology show signs of having adapted? In my own randomized trial of a fiber-rich, plant-based diet in adults with type 1 diabetes, we saw insulin requirements fall in ways that track with exactly this kind of adaptive, whole-body response rather than a simple nutrient swap. That's the kind of clinical population where testing the limits of adaptation matters most, and where I think this framework will do the most good.”

The review calls for longitudinal studies that track adaptation as it unfolds, rather than comparing only a baseline and endpoint, and for biomarkers that can distinguish a temporary response to dietary change from a stable, adapted state. The authors argue the same physiological principle extends well beyond plant-based diets, to any nutrition research that infers long-term status from short-term intake data.

A voice disorder may be an early sign of dementia

Roughly 17.9 million U.S. adults report having had a voice problem within the past 12 months, and 9.4 million of them have had an issue that lasted for a week or longer, according to the National Institutes of Health. The findings from the Drexel study are particularly important for the four in ten adults who experienced a voice disorder and did not pursue medical care (and may be at higher risk of cognitive decline).

More than six million Americans have Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, a number that is expected to more than double by 2060, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The findings from the Drexel research are also relevant to the more than four in 10 Americans over 55 who will receive a dementia diagnosis in their lifetime. Early diagnosis empowers a patient to develop more robust plans for taking care of finances and prepare for future health issues to ensure the best possible quality of life.

“If you have a voice disorder that impacts how your voice sounds or if it’s painful when you attempt to talk or sing, it’s only natural to participate less often in brain-supporting social or other engaging activities,” said senior author Robert Sataloff, MD, a professor and chair in Drexel’s College of Medicine. “We already see this in patients with Parkinson’s disease, in which voice disorders often precede other physical signs of the disease.”

The research team tracked data on 833,417 patients at primary care doctor well visits, beginning at least a full year following a diagnosis of a voice or hearing loss disorder. The team compared patients with diagnosed voice disorders and a patient control group that did not experience voice or hearing problems to see who went on to develop dementia or cognitive impairment.

The team found a greater association between cognitive decline and voice disorders than among those with hearing loss and no voice disorders.

The findings challenge hearing loss as the prevailing area of focus for diagnosis of cognitive decline. At the same time, the data in the study did not contradict earlier studies linking hearing loss and dementia. Hearing loss is considered the largest modifiable risk factor for dementia, and the team’s data supported this, reporting that hearing loss was associated with a 27% increased risk of cognitive decline compared to matched controls. The link between hearing loss and cognitive decline is well-documented, including a study in The Lancet which found that counseling and hearing aid use reduced a three-year cognitive change in older adults who were at increased risk for cognitive decline.

“Our work shows that voice disorders may be an earlier and stronger sign of cognitive decline than hearing loss alone,” said Sataloff. “We found the strongest link with dementia among patients experiencing a voice disorder and hearing loss; but importantly, we found that those with a voice disorder and no hearing loss were at greater risk than patients who experience hearing loss only. It may be valuable for many of these patients to talk with an otolaryngologist who can arrange a cognitive assessment to help patients develop an appropriate care plan.”

The team found that those with a voice disorder and hard of hearing were also older and experienced higher rates of health issues like high blood pressure, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

The field would benefit from future studies into whether particular voice disorders have a stronger link to future cognitive decline, the authors say, as well as whether treatment of voice disorders will slow cognitive decline as it occurs with treatment of hearing disorders.

Healthier fats linked to longer survival after prostate cancer diagnosis

 

Replacing saturated and animal fats with unsaturated and plant-based fats is associated with a lower risk of death among men with nonmetastatic prostate cancer.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

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Boston, MA—Men diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer can generally expect to live for many years after their diagnosis. However, cardiovascular disease and other cancers remain important threats to their long-term health. For many survivors, this raises an important question: What can I do to live a longer, healthier life? A new study published in JAMA Network Open suggests that the type and source of dietary fat they consume may make a difference.

The study, co-led by researchers from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (The Institute) and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, included nearly 5,000 men with nonmetastatic prostate cancer and followed them for a median of 12.8 years, drawing on data collected over more than three decades. The researchers found that the type and source of fat consumed after diagnosis were associated with long-term survival. Higher saturated fat intake, as well as higher animal fat consumption (a major dietary source of saturated fat), were associated with greater all-cause mortality. These associations were driven primarily by deaths from cardiovascular disease and, to a lesser extent, other cancers—not by prostate cancer itself.

“Our findings suggest that diet after diagnosis may be one modifiable component of survivorship care, broadening the focus beyond control of the original tumor. Protecting cardiovascular and overall health is an essential part of prostate cancer care, particularly because some treatments can affect metabolic and cardiovascular health,” said co-senior author Lorelei Mucci, professor of epidemiology at Harvard Chan School.

The findings are particularly relevant as the population of prostate cancer survivors continues to grow. Approximately 300,000 men are living with prostate cancer in Canada, while 3.5 million prostate cancer survivors live in the U.S. Supporting long-term health after diagnosis is therefore an increasingly important aspect of prostate cancer care. 

The source and type of fat matter

During follow-up, 3,040 participants died. The researchers' analysis showed that men with the highest saturated-fat intake had a 24% higher rate of death during follow-up than those with the lowest intake. Their estimated 10-year risk of death was 26.4%, compared with 23.4% among men with the lowest intake—a difference of about three deaths per 100 men over 10 years.

The researchers also used statistical models to estimate the potential impact of replacing certain dietary fats with healthier alternatives while keeping overall calorie intake similar. Replacing about 10% of daily calories from animal fat with plant-based fat was associated with a 16% lower rate of death from any cause. Similarly, replacing about 5% of daily calories from saturated fat with monounsaturated fat was associated with a 20% lower rate of death. 

“The central message is not simply to ‘eat less fat.’ Rather, the type and source of fat appear to matter. Replacing some animal fats and saturated fats with plant-based and unsaturated fats may help support long-term health after a prostate cancer diagnosis,” said co-senior author David P. Labbé, scientist in the Cancer Research Program at The Institute and associate professor in the Department of Surgery at McGill University.

The findings are also consistent with studies in people without cancer and with dietary recommendations from the American Heart Association. However, the authors stressed that the study shows associations and does not establish cause and effect. The findings should not be interpreted as a recommendation to follow a restrictive diet or eliminate animal products altogether.

“The takeaway is to prioritize simple substitutions—choosing olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados and other plant-based foods more often instead of foods high in animal or saturated fat,” said co-senior author Edward Giovannucci, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard Chan School.

A large prospective study spanning more than three decades 

The study used data from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, a long-running prospective study that began in 1986 and has followed more than 50,000 male health professionals across the U.S. 

The researchers identified 4,884 participants diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer between 1986 and January 2019, most of whom were white and were approximately 70 years old at the time of diagnosis. Participants completed detailed, validated food-frequency questionnaires every four years and were followed through December 2022. 

The researchers examined whether the participants’ intake of saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, trans, animal and plant-based fats was associated with overall mortality or specific causes of death. In their analysis, they accounted for many factors that could influence survival, including age, tumor stage and grade, treatment, smoking, physical activity, body weight and other health conditions. 

Of the 3,040 deaths during follow-up, 803 were from cardiovascular disease, 499 from cancers other than prostate cancer, and 441 from prostate cancer.

Toward personalized nutrition in prostate cancer care 

Since the study participants were predominantly white men in the U.S., the researchers hope to replicate their findings in more diverse populations. In addition, they plan to further investigate the role of diet after a prostate cancer diagnosis and examine specific foods, individual fatty acids, and broader dietary patterns, as well as whether the associations between fat consumption and health outcomes differ according to the treatment patients receive.

“Ultimately, our goal is to make nutrition a more precise and evidence-based component of prostate cancer care—one that takes into account the treatment received, tumor biology, and each patient’s cardiovascular and metabolic health,” said Labbé.

Article information
“Dietary Fat Intake and Mortality Among Patients With Nonmetastatic Prostate Cancer,” Yiwen Zhang, Megan R. Shanahan, Hannah E. Guard, Jiachen Ji, Maria Celia Fernandez, Nadia Boufaied, Jane B. Vaselkiv, Binkai Liu, Chaoran Ma, Rebecca E. Graff, Stacy Loeb, Caroline Himbert, Yuan Ma, Edward L. Giovannucci, David P. Labbé, Lorelei A. Mucci, JAMA Network Open, Sept. 2, 2026, doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.30693

Increasing daily steps is as effective as aerobic exercise in managing asthma

For people with moderate to severe asthma, increasing the number of daily steps may be as effective as structured aerobic training sessions for managing the disease. This finding comes from a study led by researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) and published in the journal Pulmonology. The study demonstrated that both approaches improve quality of life, alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression, and control asthma in the medium term. This offers doctors and patients more flexible, accessible, non-pharmacological treatment alternatives.

Physical therapist David Halen Araújo Pinheiro conducted the doctoral research at the University of São Paulo Medical School (FM-USP) in Brazil, in collaboration with the Airway Diseases Unit of the Pulmonology Division at the Heart Institute of Hospital das Clínicas (HC), a hospital complex administered by FM-USP. The research group received funding from FAPESP (projects 21/03745-3, 24/00263-6, 21/04198-6, and 18/17788-3) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).

“In a previous study, we found that if a patient walks 7,500 steps a day, they already have better clinical control of their asthma,” says Pinheiro, who is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Laboratory for Research in Physical Therapy and Exercise (LIFFE) at HC-FM-USP with a fellowship from FAPESP. 

Of the 480 patients invited to participate in the new study, 52 enrolled in the program after the screening process. The interventions lasted two months, and a follow-up assessment was conducted four months later. To qualify for the study, volunteers with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe asthma had to be physically inactive (engaging in less than 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week), have received medical treatment for at least six months, be clinically stable (with no exacerbations in the past 30 days), and be nonsmokers.

Before starting the program, participants attended an in-person educational session covering topics such as asthma pathophysiology, proper medication use, and the benefits of physical activity. The volunteers were randomly assigned to two groups. One group began attending the HC twice a week for 45-minute aerobic training sessions on a treadmill under professional supervision. The second group visited the HC once a week for up to 90 minutes to receive guidance, counseling, and encouragement to increase their physical activity through walking and setting weekly goals. Members of this group were provided with a smartwatch to track their steps during the study period. Both interventions lasted eight weeks.

Parameters related to physical activity, clinical asthma control, quality of life, and symptoms of depression and anxiety were measured at three time points: before the start of the study (baseline), immediately after the eight-week intervention (post-intervention), and four months later (follow-up). During each seven-day, seven-night assessment period, the volunteers wore an accelerometer on their waist during the day to measure steps and another on their wrist at night to assess sleep quality. The professionals who conducted the assessments were not directly involved in the study and did not know which group each participant belonged to.

Low quality of life

The study participants with asthma were between 18 and 65 years old. Most of them were overweight or grade 1 obese women who exhibited symptoms of anxiety and depression and had a low quality of life, according to the authors of the article. Volunteers in both groups experienced fewer respiratory symptoms and maintained these benefits four months after the study ended.

“Both interventions are beneficial for patients and provide better clinical control of the disease. And, based on our results, neither strategy outperformed the other,” Pinheiro notes. “However, aerobic training requires more equipment and must be supervised. With simple walking, on the other hand, by increasing the daily number of steps, patients tend to manage their condition and gain other benefits, such as an improved quality of life and reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression.”

After the two-month intervention period, the researchers waited four months before contacting the patients for a follow-up. “We did that so as not to influence them and to let them go about their daily lives,” the researcher explains. “After four months, many patients in the aerobic training group reported that they’d joined a gym to use the treadmill, while patients in the behavioral intervention group continued walking as part of their daily routine.”

Not all of them, however. They cited weather changes (from cold to hot or vice versa) as the main reason for discontinuing their activities.

“We observed that, in the aerobic training group, the number of steps increased compared to baseline and declined at follow-up. The same occurred in the behavioral intervention group, although in both cases, the numbers remained above those recorded before the intervention.”

The aerobic training group showed an average increase of 1,537 steps per day after the intervention compared to the baseline. At follow-up, however, the increase was smaller: 983 steps. The behavioral intervention group increased their daily step count by 1,126 immediately after the two-month program. Four months later, it was 996.

“That was an interesting observation we made. After four months, the number of steps recorded by the behavioral intervention group was slightly higher than that of the aerobic training group.”

However, Pinheiro emphasizes that in his protocol, patients must continue taking their medication as recommended by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). “Both aerobic training and behavioral intervention complement medication. We must never stop taking the treatment prescribed by our doctor,” the researcher states.

Boosting indoor light could help support healthy ageing in older adults in urban areas

 

Bright light therapy lamps can improve sleep, activity levels and circadian rhythms of older adults in urban areas who have diminished exposure to natural light, a new study from the University of Surrey reports. Scientists believe such methods could provide a non-pharmacological and low-cost way to support healthy ageing in urban areas. 

In the first real-world study of its kind, Surrey scientists, as part of the European-wide ENLIGHTENme project, investigated whether the benefits of light supplementation from bright light therapy lamps could be translated into everyday life. Controlled studies under laboratory conditions have consistently shown that similar lamps can reduce circadian misalignment, which, when left unaddressed, can lead to sleep problems, hormone imbalances and increased risks of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Recognising that real-world light exposure is heavily shaped by behavioural and environmental factors, the team also examined the key determinants influencing how and when people actually use these lamps.  

Dr Daan van Der Veen, Senior Lecturer in Sleep and Chronobiology at the University of Surrey, said:  

“Exposure to daytime light is crucial to regulate our circadian rhythms and our sleeping patterns, however often older adults in urban areas, due to the decline in their eyesight or perhaps mobility issues preventing them from going outside, do not get this exposure to good light, and this can lead to sleep and health problems, increasing their risk to chronic diseases.” 

During the study scientists recruited more than 200 participants aged 63 -92 years old from three culturally diverse European cities (Tartu, Bologna and Amsterdam) whose seasonal daylight variation differed from each other. 

Professor Debra Skene, Professor of Neuroendocrinology at the University of Surrey said:

“We are very excited that the findings we have shown in laboratory studies of older people are now replicated in real-life conditions, with varying levels of natural light and in different cultures.”

Following two weeks of baseline assessments, participants were split into two groups – a light supplementation group, who were provided with a light therapy lamp and a control group who did not have a lamp. Those in the light supplementation group were asked to place the lamp at head height in the room where they spend most of their time whilst at home and were instructed to turn on the lamp within one hour after waking up and turn it off four hours before their normal sleep time at the latest for a period of 12 weeks. 

All participants wore a wrist actigraphy monitor and a pendant light sensor to measure activity levels and exposure to light. The study was repeated across all seasons to account for changes in natural light. 

 

Scientists found that participants with higher baseline natural light exposure showed significantly higher daytime levels of activity, more consolidated wakefulness during the day, and reported better sleep quality compared to those with lower light exposure. 

It was also found that those classified as ‘morning types, or larks’ and began light supplementation earlier in the morning were significantly more active during the day and had less disrupted rest-activity rhythms than their peers who started later in the morning. In addition, the group which finished light supplementation earlier, thereby reducing evening light exposure, showed lower rest-activity fragmentation.  

Analysis of the data provided by participants during initial baseline assessments showed that participants with metabolic disorders (including high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular conditions) had significantly lower levels of total light exposure compared to those who did not report a metabolic disorder. 

Débora Constantino, a Postgraduate Research Student at the University of Surrey, said:  

“What we have found is that early administration of light supplementation significantly enhances activity levels and reduces rest-activity fragmentation in older adults.  

“This is an exciting discovery and provides real-world evidence that light is a simple, non-pharmacological, and potentially cost-effective intervention, which, from a public health policy perspective, could help support healthy ageing. These findings highlight a clear opportunity for policymakers to integrate structured indoor light supplementation into community care frameworks and care home guidelines.” 

This study was published in the Journal of Pineal Research: Paper title: ‘ENLIGHTENme: Translating the benefits of self-administered daytime light supplementation to older adults in the real world’ DOI: 10.1111/jpi.70174 

 

Alcohol-linked cancer’s toll extends far beyond the liver with deaths rising across age groups

Colorectal and breast cancers stood out among adults ages 20 to 54

 Study Summary

• Alcohol-attributable cancer deaths in the U.S. doubled from about 11,400 in 1990 to more than 23,100 in 2023.
• The study found alcohol's impact extends beyond liver cancer, with growing burdens from colorectal, breast, esophageal, pancreatic and other cancers.
• Presented at ASCO 2025 and published in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, the research highlights alcohol as a potentially modifiable cancer risk factor.

Alcohol-attributable cancer deaths in the U.S. doubled between 1990 and 2023, a new study found. The study also revealed that alcohol-linked cancer deaths are not limited to older adults or liver cancer. Among adults ages 20 to 54, colorectal cancer was the leading alcohol-attributable cancer death in men, while breast cancer ranked first in women. The study also showed a growing burden from colorectal, esophageal, pancreatic and other cancers.

Led by researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, the findings were first presented as an oral presentation at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting and are now published in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas.

Using more than three decades of Global Burden of Disease data, researchers found that annual alcohol-attributable cancer deaths rose from 11,361 in 1990 to 23,126 in 2023. Men and adults age 55 and older experienced the greatest burden, but increases were seen across most cancer types, age groups and regions.

Alcohol has long been recognized as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, in the same category as tobacco smoke and asbestos. Scientific evidence links alcohol consumption to cancers of the breast, liver, esophagus, colorectum and several head and neck sites.

“The most surprising finding was the breadth of alcohol’s potential impact across cancer types,” said Chinmay Jani, M.D., corresponding author of the study and chief fellow in hematology and oncology at Sylvester. “Although its relationship with liver cancer is widely recognized, its contribution to cancers such as colorectal, esophageal, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancer is less well understood by the public.”

Among older men, liver cancer accounted for the highest alcohol-attributable mortality rates, followed by esophageal and colorectal cancers. Among women, breast cancer represented the leading source of alcohol-attributable cancer mortality.

The study also identified concerning patterns in younger adults. For men ages 20 to 54, colorectal cancer was the leading alcohol-attributable cause of cancer death. Among women in the same age group, breast cancer ranked first, followed by colorectal cancer.

“Notably, among adults aged 20 to 54, colorectal cancer was the leading cause of alcohol-attributable cancer mortality in men and the second leading cause in women, surpassing liver cancer in both groups,” Jani said.

The study also found substantial geographic variation. In 2023, Washington, D.C., recorded the highest alcohol-attributable cancer mortality rates, while Utah had the lowest.

Although the study examined national trends, the findings have particular relevance for Florida, which has one of the nation’s largest populations of older adults, the age group that experienced the highest alcohol-attributable cancer mortality rates.

Gilberto Lopes, M.D., senior author and chief of the Division of Medical Oncology at Sylvester, said the findings reinforce the importance of giving people clear information about lifestyle factors that influence cancer risk.

“What this study makes clear is that alcohol-related cancer risk is not limited to one disease or one group of people,” Lopes said. “As physicians and cancer researchers, we have an opportunity to help patients understand that alcohol is a modifiable risk factor and that even small, informed changes can be part of a broader strategy to reduce cancer risk in our community.”

Despite increasing scientific evidence, public awareness of the alcohol-cancer connection remains relatively low compared with awareness of other risk factors such as tobacco use.

“The most important takeaway is greater awareness that alcohol may affect cancer risk beyond the liver,” Jani said. “These findings highlight alcohol as a potentially modifiable risk factor, and while the lowest safe dose is not yet known, this study suggests that reducing consumption to the lowest amount feasible for each individual may help lessen its impact on cancer risk and overall health.”