American scientists have found that drinking alcohol significantly increases the risk of developing benign breast diseases, in particular mastopathy, in girls and young women, according to PhysOrg.

Researchers from Washington and Harvard universities from 1996 to 2007 conducted regular surveys of 6899 girls from all 50 states of the country. The questions asked were about alcohol consumption and diagnosis of mastopathy and similar benign breast lesions. At the beginning of the study, the age of its participants ranged from 9 to 15 years.

The obtained data showed that the risk of developing mastopathy is directly dependent on the volume of consumption of alcohol. Among study participants who drank alcohol from 6 to 7 days a week, benign breast diseases were observed 5.5 times more often than those who drank no more than once a week. At a frequency of drinking alcohol from 3 to 5 times a week, this risk increased by about three times.

In general, participants in the study who treated mastopathy, consumed alcohol more often, drank at a time and on average a day more, and were more prone to excessive consumption of alcohol and binges than their peers with a healthy breast.

As one researcher Graham Colditz noted, since mastopathy creates favorable conditions for the development of breast cancer, limiting alcohol intake at an early age is an integral part of the prevention of this common cancer.

Medicinform. Net.