Alcohol Drinking Pattern and Risk of Head and Neck Cancer: A Nationwide Cohort Study

Hye Yeon Koo, Kyungdo Han, Dong Wook Shin, Jung Eun Yoo, Mi Hee Cho, Keun Hye Jeon, Dahye Kim, Sangduk Hong and Jae Kwan Jun
Additional contact information
Hye Yeon Koo: Health Promotion Center, CHA Bundang Medical Center, Seongnam 13496, Korea
Kyungdo Han: Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, Soongsil University, Seoul 06978, Korea
Dong Wook Shin: Department of Family Medicine/Supportive Care Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea
Jung Eun Yoo: Department of Family Medicine, Healthcare System Gangnam Center, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 06236, Korea
Mi Hee Cho: Samsung C&T Medical Clinic, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 05288, Korea
Keun Hye Jeon: Department of Family Medicine, CHA Gumi Medical Center, CHA University, Gumi 39295, Korea
Dahye Kim: Department of Medical Statistics, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 07345, Korea
Sangduk Hong: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea
Jae Kwan Jun: National Cancer Control Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang 10408, Korea

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 21, 1-14

Abstract: Alcohol consumption is a major risk factor for head and neck cancer (HNC), yet little data exist examining drinking patterns and HNC risk. In this population-based, retrospective cohort study, 11,737,467 subjects were recruited from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. The risks of overall HNC and HNC subtypes according to average alcohol consumption, drinking frequency, and daily amount were examined using Cox proportional hazard models. Over the median follow-up of 6.4 years, 15,832 HNC cases were identified. HNC risk linearly increased with drinking frequency ( p -trend < 0.01; adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.45–1.67 in subjects who drank 7 days/week). HNC risk also increased according to daily amount of alcohol consumption ( p -trend < 0.01), but plateaued from 5–7 units/occasion (aHR 1.25, 95% CI 1.19–1.31) to >14 units/occasion (aHR 1.26, 95% CI 1.13–1.40). When stratified by average alcohol consumption, drinking frequency, but not daily amount, showed a linear relationship with HNC risk in moderate and heavy drinkers. When comparing the HNC subtypes, similar tendencies were observed in cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx, but not in the salivary gland. In conclusion, drinking frequency is a stronger risk factor for HNC, especially for cancer of the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx, than the daily amount of alcohol consumption.

Keywords: head and neck neoplasms; alcohol drinking; drinking behavior; risk factors; cohort studies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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