Teen Drinking and Breast Cancer

A recent study done by Catherine Berkey at Harvard Medical School, states there might be a link to teen girls drinking, and developing breast cancer later in life.

The study surveyed 6,899 women. It began at 9-15 years old, followed up again at ages 16-23, and then again at 18-27. Berkey found the risk of developing breast cancer slightly increased with those drinking one or two times per week. The danger increased to three times higher for those drinking five days a week, and up to five times higher for those drinking seven days per week. Berkey attributes this to the rapid growth and development of mammary glands during the teen years. She even goes on to hypothesize that even small amounts of alcohol during early pubescent years may be harmful. However, the sample size is relatively small,

Dr. Patricia Ganz, director of cancer prevention and control research at UCLA, cautioned in USA Today. “I wouldn’t scare (teens) and say, ‘You are going to get breast cancer if you drink. But, on the other hand, the public health message is, these young girls shouldn’t be drinking anyway.” The study was published in an online version of the April 12 edition of Pedriatics journal.