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Association Between Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A Comprehensive Meta‐Analysis of Epidemiological Studies
Author(s) -
Du Taifeng,
Chen Kangkang,
Zheng Shukai,
Bao Mian,
Huang Yuanni,
Wu Kusheng
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/acer.14184
Subject(s) - meta analysis , nasopharyngeal carcinoma , alcohol consumption , epidemiology , environmental health , medicine , consumption (sociology) , alcohol , association (psychology) , oncology , psychology , biology , sociology , radiation therapy , social science , biochemistry , psychotherapist
Background Alcohol consumption is increasing all over the world, but whether it is an independent factor affecting the occurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma ( NPC ) is inconsistent in many studies. We aimed to explore the association between alcohol consumption and NPC risk by integrating existing evidence in a meta‐analysis. Methods We searched for relevant articles published up to August 2018 in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge infrastructure ( CNKI ). The Newcastle–Ottawa scale was used to assess the quality of the included studies. Odds ratios ( OR s) or relative risks were pooled to estimate the associations between alcohol consumption and NPC risk. Results The meta‐analysis of cohort studies showed no significant association between alcohol consumption and NPC , but pooled results from case–control studies indicated that ever drinking increased the probability of NPC versus nondrinking ( OR = 1.10; 95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 1.01, 1.19). As compared with nondrinkers, high‐frequency drinking (≥7 times/wk) increased the NPC probability ( OR = 1.29; 95% CI : 1.05, 1.53) and low‐frequency drinking (<7 times/wk) decreased the probability ( OR = 0.77; 95% CI : 0.60, 0.94), as did shorter duration of drinking (<20 years) ( OR = 0.64; 95% CI : 0.49, 0.79). On subgroup analyses, significant pooled results were observed for studies with high quality, with hospital‐based controls and with adjustment for confounding factors, smoking, age, and sex. Conclusions The risk of NPC may increase with alcohol consumption. Ever drinking increased the risk versus nondrinking. Additionally, high‐frequency drinking increased the risk, but low‐frequency drinking decreased it to some extent. Further intensive studies based on well‐designed methods are needed to examine the association.