A study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found that young women who are heavy drinkers of alcohol in the years between adolescence and their first-full term pregnancy are at an increased risk of breast cancer. There results are of particular concern to college-age women as recent studies have shown an increase in alcohol consumption and binge drinking of women college students.
Graham Colditz, associate director for cancer prevention and control at the Siteman Cancer Center and co-author of the study, stated, “More and more heavy drinking is occurring on college campuses and during adolescence, and not enough people are considering future risks. If a female averages a drink per day between her first period and her first full-term pregnancy, she increases her risk of breast cancer by 13 percent.”
Co-author Ying Liu, and instructor in the Division of Health Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine, added, “Parents should educate their daughters about the link between drinking and risk of breast cancer and breast disease. That’s very important because this time period is very critical.”
Dr. Liu received her medical training at Southeast University in Nanking, China. She holds a master of public health degree from Fudan University in Shanghai and a Ph.D. in environmental toxicology from Texas Tech University.