November 27, 2003 – Scientists may have just clarified the exact nature of the link between alcohol consumption and an increased risk of developing cancer1.
Researchers asked 53 postmenopausal women to take, for eight weeks, one or two drinks per day (each drink representing about 15 g of alcohol). The control group consisted of women who did not drink at all. They found that the more alcohol a participant consumed, the higher her levels of leptin, a hormone associated with tissue growth, were high. This rate increased by 9% in women who took two drinks per day, and researchers believe that this increase would be even higher in a woman who drank more.
This increase in leptin levels could increase the risk of developing cancer, since cancer cells usually reproduce out of control.
The authors of the study warn, however, that this should not be concluded from this that moderate alcohol consumption automatically leads to an increased risk of developing cancer. They admit in particular that they do not know if this increase in the level of leptin persists in the long term or if, despite continued alcohol consumption, the situation eventually returns to order.
Fluctuations in leptin levels have also been associated with a higher risk of immune diseases and increased susceptibility to infections. People with obesity also frequently have abnormally high levels of leptin.
Jean-Benoit Legault – PasseportSanté.net
According to Reuters Health; November 26, 2003.
1. Roth MJ, Baer DJ, Albert PS, Castonguay TW, Dorgan JF, Dawsey SM, Brown ED, Hartman TJ, Campbell WS, Giffen CA, Judd JT, Taylor PR. Relationship between serum leptin levels and alcohol consumption in a controlled feeding and alcohol ingestion study.J Natl Cancer Inst 2003 Nov 19; 95 (22): 1722-5.