Is alcohol intake associated with breast cancer in Hispanic women? The New Mexico Women's Health Study.

Previous studies have shown an increased breast cancer risk associated with modest or high alcohol intake, however, few of these studies have included Hispanic women. The alcohol/breast cancer association was investigated in a New Mexico (NM) statewide bi-ethnic study.A population-based, case-control study.Incident breast cancer cases (N = 712), aged 30-74 years, were ascertained by the New Mexico Tumor Registry (NMTR). Controls (N = 844) were identified by random digit dialing and were frequency-matched for ethnicity, age-group, and health planning district. Data were collected via in-person interview, which included questions regarding recent and past alcohol intake and breast cancer risk factors.The highest level of recent alcohol intake, compared to no intake, was associated with breast cancer risk for postmenopausal Hispanic women (odds ratio [OR] = 2.0 95%, confidence interval [CI] 0.8-5.1, 42+ grams/ week) and postmenopausal non-Hispanic White women (OR = 2.2, 95% Cl 1.0-5.0, 148+ grams/week), although estimates were unstable and statistically non-significant. Lower recent alcohol intake (< 148 grams/week) was associated with reduced risk for non-Hispanic Whites (OR = 0.49, 95% Cl 0.35-0.69). This pattern was independent of hormone-receptor status and was present for both premenopausal (OR = 0.29, 95% Cl 0.15-0.56) and postmenopausal women (OR = 0.56, 95% Cl 0.35-0.90). Results for past alcohol intake and breast cancer association did not demonstrate any trends and were non-significant.Alcohol intake does not appear to have a consistent or significant association with breast cancer in Hispanic women.