Table 1.
General characteristics of the studies included in the final analysis
| Study | Type of study | Country | Years enrolled | Population (sex, age) | Type of thyroid cancer | Definition of alcohol use (highest vs. lowest category) | OR/RR (95% Cl) | Adjusted variable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Takezaki et al. (1996) [16] | Case-control study | Japan | 1988-1993 | 94 cases and 26,666 controls (women, 20-79 yr) | Papillary or follicular thyroid cancer | Sometimes or less/≥ 4 times/wk | 0.70 (0.30-1.50) | Age and year of visit |
| Rossing et al. (2000) [17] | Case-control study | United States | 1988-1994 | 468 cases and 574 controls, (women, 18-64 yr) | Papillary thyroid cancer | 7 drinks/wk, vs. never, 1 drink: not specified | 0.90 (0.50-1.40) | Age, country of residence, race, marital status, education, history of radiation treatment, and smoking |
| fribarren et al. (2001) [18] | Prospective cohort study | United States | 1964-1973 | 204,964 persons and 169 cases (men and women, 10-89 yr) | All types of thyroid cancer | ≥ 6 drinks/day vs. 1-2 drinks/day, 1 drink: not specified | 0.95 (0.30-3.02) | Age, sex, race, level of education, cigarette smoking, self-reported personal history, family history of thyroid disease, body mass index, weight gain, height, and occupational exposures |
| Mack et al. (2003) [11] | Pooled analysis of 14 case-control studies | United States, Europe, and Asia | 1980-1997 | 2,725 cases and 4,776 controls (men and women, all ages) | All types of thyroid cancer | > 14 drinks/wk vs. none, 1 drink: one glass of wine or beer | 0.90 (0.70-1.10) | Study, sex, and age |
| Navarro Silvera et al. (2005) [19] | Prospective cohort study | Canada | 1980-1985 | 89,835 persons and 169 cases (women, 40-59 yr) | All types of thyroid cancer | ≥ 10 g/day vs. none | 0.84 (0.44-1.58) | Age, education, BMI, and pack-years of smoking |
| Nagano et al. (2007) [21] | Case-control study | Japan | 1970-1986 | 362 cases and 435 controls (men and women, > 75 yr) | Papillary or follicular thyroid cancer | Daily vs. never | 0.59 (0.35-1.01) | Family history of cancer, past history of goiter or thyroid nodule, and smoking history |
| Guignard et al. (2007) [20] | Case-control study | New Caledonia | 1993-1999 | 332 cases and 412 controls (men and women ≥ 70 yr) | Papillary or follicular thyroid cancer | > 10 drinks/wk vs. never, 1 drink: an ordinary glass of any alcoholic beverage | 0.64 (0.22-1.88) | Age, year of reference, ethnic group, and number of pack-years |
| Allen et al. (2009) [22] | Prospective cohort study | United Kingdom | 1996-2001 | 1,280,296 persons and 421 cases (women, average 55 yr) | All types of thyroid cancer | ≥ 15 drinks/wk vs. none, 1 drink: about 10 g of alcohol | 0.54 (0.31-0.92) | Age, region of residence, socioeconomic status,BMI, smoking, physical activity, use of oral contraceptives, and hormone replacement therapy |
| Meinhold et al. (2009) [23] | Prospective cohort study | United States | 1995-1996 | 490,159 persons and 370 cases (men and women, 50-71 yr) | All types of thyroid cancer | ≥ 2 drinks/day vs. none, 1 drink: 12.96 g-13.93 g of ethanol according to type of alcoholic beverage | 0.57 (0.36-0.89) | Age, sex, race, education, smoking status, BMI, and family history of cancer |
| Meinhold et al. (2010) [24] | Prospective cohort study | United States | 1983-2006 | 90,713 persons and 282 cases (men and women, all years) | All types of thyroid cancer | ≥ 7 drinks/wk vs. none, 1 drink: not specified | 0.86 (0.54-1.39) | Birth year, smoking, BMI, number of radiographs to the head and neck, and medical history of benign thyroid conditions |
| Han et al. (2011) [25] | Cross-sectional study | Korea | 2009 | 2,000 persons and 263 cases (≥ 40 yr men, ≥ 30 yr women) | All types of thyroid cancer | ≥ 1 frequency/mo vs. none | 0.61 (0.44-0.86) | Age, residence, education, income, marital status, job, self-rated health, smoking, and vigorous exercise |
| Kabat et al. (2012) [26] | Prospective cohort study | United States | 1993-1998 | 159,340 persons and 331 cases (women, 50-79 yr) | All types of thyroid cancer | ≥ 7 drinks/wk vs. none, 1 drink: not specified | 0.66 (0.44-1.01) | Age, education, pack-years of smoking, age of first pregnancy, age at menopause, hormone therapy, history of benign thyroid disease, observational study component/clinical trial component, and randomization status in CT |
| Kitahara et al. (2012) [12] | Pooled analysis of five prospective cohort studies | United States | 1983-2009 | 746,097 persons and 1,003 cases (men and women, all years) | All types of thyroid cancer | ≥ 7 drinks/wk vs. none, 1 drink: 14 g of alcohol | 0.72 (0.58-0.90) | Age, sex, education, race, marital status, BMI, and smoking status |
| Choi et al. (2013) [27] | Cross-sectional study | Korea | 2010-2011 | 12,276 persons and 71 cases (men and women, all years) | All types of thyroid cancer | Drinking vs. non-drinking | 1.89 (1.08-3.32) | Age, sex, weight, height, survey year, monthly household income, education, marital status, residential area, smoking, and physically active |
| Xhaard et al. (2014) [28] | Case-control study | French Polynesia | 1981-2003 | 229 cases and 373 controls men and women, 10-62 yr) | All types of thyroid cancer | Regular alcohol consumption yes vs. no | 1.20 (0.30-4.50) | BMI, height, number of pregnancies, menopausal status, nuclear worker, family history of thyroid cancer, education, and irradiation of the neck |
| Stansifer et al. (2015) [29] | Retrospective case-control study | United States | 2013 | 467 cases and 255 controls (men and women, ≥ 18 yr) | All types of thyroid cancer | Current drinker vs. never drinker | 0.46 (0.29-0.73) | None |
OR, odd ratio; RR, relative risk; CI, confidence interval; BMI, body mass index; CT, computed tomography.