Study Finds Link Between White Wine And Skin Cancer

winecancer

by Elizabeth Bennett |
Published on

While it is widely accepted that regular heavy drinking can cause cancer, a new study has found a direct link between drinking and skin cancer. Not exactly the best news to receive just before Christmas.

The large study, published in an American Association for Cancer Research journal, gathered data from 210,252 participants who they surveyed on their drinking habits, residences, and health history (including sun exposure and tanning), and the results are pretty depressing.

The research found that drinking one drink a day (that’s 12.8 grams of alcohol, or one beer, glass of wine, or a single spirit and mixer) causes a 14 percent greater risk of skin cancer.

However, if white wine is your tipple of choice the news is even more bleak. The scientists found that white wine drinkers had a 13 percent greater risk of skin cancer in comparison to people who drank red wine, beer, or spirit based drinks.

Eunyoung Cho, ScD, an associate professor of dermatology and epidemiology at Warren Alpert, suggested that the high content of acetaldehyde in white wine might be to blame. Acetaldehyde can cause DNA damage which in turn can increase the risk of cancer.

Cho emphasised that this study does not confirm a cause-and-effect relationship between white wine and skin cancer, but highlighted it was important that people knew about the link so they could limit their drinking accordingly.

READ MORE: A Positive Attitude Could Make You Live Longer

READ MORE: Love Gin? Then This Might Be Your Dream Job

READ MORE: How To Break Up With Your Pill

Just so you know, we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website - read why you should trust us