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Alcohol consumption and risk of myelodysplastic syndromes: a case–control study

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Abstract

Purpose

Epidemiological studies on alcohol consumption and the risk of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) have been inconclusive. We evaluated the association between alcohol consumption and MDS risk in a Chinese population.

Methods

A hospital-based case–control study was conducted between 2012 and 2013 in Hangzhou, China. The analysis included 208 case–control pairs. Diagnosis of MDS was confirmed according to the 2008 World Health Organization classification system. Controls were individually matched to the cases by gender, birth quinquennium, and residential locality. Information on habitual alcohol consumption, diet, and lifestyle was sought from face-to-face interview using a validated questionnaire. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated using conditional logistic regression.

Results

Fewer cases (36.5 %) were classified as alcohol drinkers compared with the controls (48.6 %). Compared with abstainers, the adjusted OR for alcohol drinkers was 0.41 (95 % CI 0.21–0.80), and significant reduced risks were found for light alcohol consumption (≤12.5 g/day of ethanol) and for wine consumption, adjusted ORs (95 % CIs) being 0.27 (0.12–0.61) and 0.12 (0.02–0.79), respectively. Compared with individuals who consumed neither alcohol nor cigarettes, the reduced risk associated with light alcohol consumption was only statistically significant among non-smokers (OR 0.19, 95 % CI 0.06–0.60).

Conclusions

The findings suggest a favorable role of light alcohol consumption in MDS, particularly among non-smokers.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the participants who participated in this study. We thank Dr. Hong-Yan Tong, Dr. Li-Hong Cao, and other staff from the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University for their kind assistance with fieldwork. Ping Liu was supported by the Scholarship for International Research Fees and the University Postgraduate Award of The University of Western Australia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia

    Ping Liu, C. D’Arcy J. Holman & Min Zhang

  2. Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University College of Medicine, 79 Qingchun Road, Hangzhou, 310003, Zhejiang, The People’s Republic of China

    Jie Jin

  3. Center for Healthcare Resilience and Implementation Science, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Level 6, 75 Talavera Road, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia

    Min Zhang

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  1. Ping Liu
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  2. C. D’Arcy J. Holman
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Correspondence to Min Zhang.

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Liu, P., Holman, C.D.J., Jin, J. et al. Alcohol consumption and risk of myelodysplastic syndromes: a case–control study. Cancer Causes Control 27, 209–216 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-015-0698-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-015-0698-x

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