Table 2.
Multivariable adjusteda HR and 95% CI for mortality risk associated with alcohol consumption before breast cancer diagnosis
| Person-years | Breast cancer-specific mortality | Mortality due to causes other than breast cancer | All-cause mortality | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. Death |
HR (95% CI) | No. Death |
HR (95% CI) | No. Death |
HR (95% CI) | ||
| Alcohol drinking status prior to breast cancer diagnosis | |||||||
| Non-drinkers | 14,468 | 382 | Referent | 87 | Referent | 469 | Referent |
| Drinkers | 22,684 | 442 | 0.87 (0.75–1.01) | 144 | 1.17 (0.87–1.56) | 586 | 0.93 (0.81–1.06) |
| Average alcohol consumption from age 15 years until breast cancer diagnosis (drinks/week) | |||||||
| Non-drinkers | 14,468 | 382 | Referent | 87 | Referent | 469 | Referent |
| < 1 | 6555 | 140 | 1.04 (0.85–1.27) | 34 | 1.21 (0.80–1.84) | 174 | 1.07 (0.90–1.28) |
| 1–< 3 | 7485 | 139 | 0.82 (0.67–1.01) | 45 | 1.28 (0.87–1.87) | 184 | 0.90 (0.76–1.08) |
| 3–< 7 | 5490 | 106 | 0.80 (0.64–1.01) | 41 | 1.17 (0.79–1.74) | 147 | 0.88 (0.72–1.07) |
| ≥ 7 | 3153 | 57 | 0.75 (0.56–1.00) | 24 | 0.95 (0.59–1.54) | 81 | 0.79 (0.62–1.01) |
| Ptrend | 0.01 | 0.73 | 0.03 | ||||
| Average alcohol consumption in recent 5-year period beginning 7 years before breast cancer diagnosis and continuing until 2 years before breast cancer diagnosis (drinks/week) | |||||||
| Non-drinkers | 14,468 | 382 | Referent | 87 | Referent | 469 | Referent |
| < 1 | 4385 | 85 | 0.88 (0.69–1.12) | 24 | 1.27 (0.80–2.04) | 109 | 0.94 (0.76–1.17) |
| 1–< 3 | 4835 | 82 | 0.83 (0.65–1.07) | 27 | 1.28 (0.82–2.02) | 109 | 0.91 (0.74–1.13) |
| 3–< 7 | 4464 | 91 | 0.87 (0.68–1.10) | 24 | 1.02 (0.63–1.63) | 115 | 0.90 (0.73–1.11) |
| ≥ 7 | 4614 | 78 | 0.74 (0.57–0.95) | 27 | 0.89 (0.56–1.40) | 105 | 0.77 (0.62–0.97) |
| Ptrend | 0.04 | 0.50 | 0.05 | ||||
| Drank alcohol, but not in this period | 4386 | 106 | 1.01 (0.81–1.26) | 42 | 1.37 (0.92–2.02) | 148 | 1.08 (0.89–1.31) |
| Average alcohol consumption in recent 2-year period beginning 2 years before breast cancer diagnosis until breast cancer diagnosis (drinks/week) | |||||||
| Non-drinkers | 14,468 | 382 | Referent | 87 | Referent | 469 | Referent |
| < 1 | 3863 | 67 | 0.76 (0.58–1.00) | 19 | 1.21 (0.72–2.02) | 86 | 0.84 (0.66–1.06) |
| 1–< 3 | 4560 | 79 | 0.82 (0.64–1.06) | 30 | 1.53 (0.99–2.36) | 109 | 0.94 (0.76–1.17) |
| 3–< 7 | 4000 | 79 | 0.86 (0.67–1.11) | 19 | 0.90 (0.54–1.52) | 98 | 0.87 (0.69–1.09) |
| ≥ 7 | 4418 | 74 | 0.73 (0.56–0.95) | 27 | 0.97 (0.61–1.54) | 101 | 0.79 (0.63–0.99) |
| Ptrend | 0.08 | 0.60 | 0.12 | ||||
| Drank alcohol, but not in this period | 5842 | 143 | 1.06 (0.87–1.30) | 49 | 1.21 (0.84–1.76) | 192 | 1.09 (0.91–1.30) |
Abbreviations: HR hazard ratio, CI confidence interval
aAll models are stratified by age at diagnosis, and include study site, race, education, household income, number of mammograms within the 5 years before breast cancer diagnosis, body mass index 5-years before diagnosis, number of comorbidities before diagnosis, smoking history, stage, estrogen receptor status, and histologic type of breast cancer tumor