Moderate drinking tied to lower diabetes risk
Moderate consumption of alcohol may be tied to a reduced risk for Type 2 diabetes, a Danish study has found.
Researchers used data on 28,704 men and 41,847 women free of diabetes at the start who reported how often they drank and the amounts of alcohol consumed. They followed the group for an average of five years. The observational study is in Diabetologia.
After adjusting for diet, family history of diabetes, high blood pressure, physical activity, smoking and other factors, they found that compared with abstainers, men who drank 14 drinks a week had a 43 percent lower risk of diabetes, and women who drank nine drinks a week a 58 percent lower risk. The mechanism is unknown, and the study could not distinguish between different types of drinks.
Consuming alcohol three to four days a week, compared with only once, was also associated with a lower risk, even after adjusting for the amount of alcohol consumed. The senior author, Janne S. Tolstrup, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Southern Denmark, said that spacing out your drinks over the week might be at least as important as the amount consumed.
“Keep consumption at moderate levels,” she said, “about seven drinks a week for women and 14 for men. Alcohol is associated with many diseases and conditions — at the same level where it may protect against diabetes, the risk of other diseases is increased.”
Gum disease tied to cancer risk in older women
Periodontal disease in older women is associated with an increased risk for cancer, a new study concludes.
Previous studies have suggested a link, but this new analysis, in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, offers additional evidence on specific cancers.
Researchers followed more than 65,000 women, average age 68, participating in a larger health study. They gathered information on periodontal disease with self-reports, and over an average of eight years of follow-up, they found 7,149 cancers.
The study controlled for race, age, family history of cancer, smoking and other variables. Gum disease was associated with an overall 14 percent increased risk for cancer, and a 12 percent increase even in women who never smoked.
The increased risk from periodontal disease was highest for esophageal and gallbladder cancers, with increased risk also for cancers of the breast and lung and for melanoma of the skin. But gum disease was not associated with cancers of the pancreas, liver or lower digestive tract.
Although the exact mechanism is unknown, gum pathogens could reach sites in the body through swallowed saliva, causing inflammation in other organs, the authors suggest.
“We know that treating gum disease prevents tooth loss,” said the senior author, Jean Wactawski-Wende, a professor of epidemiology at the University at Buffalo. “It could also be helpful in managing cancer and other systemic diseases. That’s a simple public health message.”