Study correlating beer and cancer may be unreliable

by Nicole Weston, Posted Apr 18th 2006 @ 10:04AM

A Canadian study showed a link between beer drinking and an increased risk of lung cancer. Non-beer drinkers had no increased risk, while wine drinkers actually had a decreased risk of lung cancer. The researchers, who did their work in the province of Quebec, obtained "very good smoking information on subjects, so [they] were able to filter out cigarette smoking [as a cause]."

The problems with the study as it is presented are twofold. The first is that the researchers noticed that wine drinkers had a healthier diet than beer drinkers, something other studies have shown. Diet could play a large role in overall health, including the likelihood of developing cancer.

The second problem is that even if the beer drinkers who smoked cigarettes were accounted for, they did not account for the amount of second-hand smoke that the drinkers might have been exposed to. Quebec does not have a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants, though one may take effect as early as May 31st, 2006, and beer tends to be a more popular drink than wine in bars and nightclubs. All subjects would have to be exposed to the exact same amount of smoke for conclusive evidence that it was the beer alone that raised their risk.

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Filed Under: Science, Drink Recipes
Tags: bar, bars, beer, beer drinkers, canada, cancer, drink, drinking, lung cancer, north america, quebec, research, risk, risk factors, science, wine

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-18-2006 @10:47AM Razib Ahmed said... " the researchers noticed that wine drinkers had a healthier diet than beer drinkers"- so can we assume that drinking of bear often cause us to go for unhealthy diets? Anyway, the findings of this research should be taken seriously and the best thing is to avoid drinking wine and beer as much as possible.
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4-18-2006 @11:33AM Finished.Law.School said... What is not reported by mass media from these studies (not just this one but I am talking about most studies reported by popular media) is the lifestyle of the study participants in comparison to the average lifestyle of people in general.
If you know anything about research methods and statistics you will likely understand that these studies are a broad generalization at best but even then their results can't be applied to all of society.
So drink whatever you want because soon enough the results of this study will be refuted by several other studies.

People drink bears?! Oh my. What country is Razib Ahmed from where this is even considered?
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