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Across Europe, barely more than one in five women know that alcohol is a risk factor for breast cancer, a disease which constitutes a “major” health problem in the region, the European branch warned on Friday of the World Health Organization (WHO).
“21% of women in 14 European countries are aware of the link between alcohol consumption and the risk of developing breast cancer. Awareness is even lower among men: only 10% know of this link“, WHO-Europe, which brings together 53 countries and extends to Central Asia, was alarmed in a press release.
On the Old Continent, 600,000 cases of breast cancer were reported in 2022.
“For women in Europe, breast cancer is the leading cancer caused by alcohol, accounting for 66% of all alcohol-attributable cancer cases.“, noted the UN institution.
Alcohol notably affects estrogen levels which play a role in the development of many breast cancers.
Even relatively low alcohol consumption can contribute to increased risk, the WHO has warned.
“More than half of alcohol-attributable breast cancer cases in Europe are not due to excessive alcohol consumption, and around a third of new annual cases are due to consumption equivalent to two small glasses of wine per day. day“, it is written.
It is therefore important to change alcohol consumption habits across Europe, which have not changed since 2010, through new public policies, the organization called.
With 2.3 million cases worldwide in 2022, breast cancer is the second most frequently detected cancer, according to the WHO.
The study presented by its European branch covered Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Estonia, France, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden.