Objective: To examine the relation between different types of alcoholic drinks and upper digestive tract cancers (oropharyngeal and oesophageal). Design: Population based study with baseline assessment of intake of beer, wine, and spirits, smoking habits, educational level, and 2-19 years' follow up on risk of upper digestive tract cancer. Setting: Denmark. Subjects: 15 117 men and 13 063 women aged 20 to 98 years. Main outcome measure: Number and time of identification of incident upper digestive tract cancer during follow up. Results: During a mean follow up of 13.5 years, 156 subjects developed upper digestive tract cancer. Compared with non-drinkers (drinkers of < 1 drink/week), subjects who drank 7-21 beers or spirits a week but no wine were at a risk of 3.0 (95% confidence interval 1.5 to 6.1), whereas those who had the same total alcohol intake but with wine as >30% of their intake had a risk of 0.5 (0.2 to 1.4). Drinkers of > 21 beers and spirits but no wine had a relative risk of 5.2 (2.7 to 10.2) compared with non-drinkers, whereas those who drank the same amount, but included wine in their alcohol intake, had a relative risk of 1.7 (0.6 to 4.4). Conclusion: A moderate intake of wine probably does not increase the risk of upper digestive tract cancer, whereas a moderate intake of beer or spirits increases the risk considerably.

Although there is a well-known relationship between total alcohol intake and future risk for cirrhosis, other factors such as the type of alcohol consumed are sparsely studied. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of wine compared with other types of alcoholic beverages on risk for alcohol-induced cirrhosis. In 3 prospective studies, 30,630 participants from the Copenhagen area were followed-up for a total observation time of 417,325 person-years. Information on weekly intake of beer, wine, and spirits, and sex, age, body mass index, smoking habits, and education was obtained from questionnaires. The primary outcome measures were first admission or death, with alcohol-induced cirrhosis obtained from death certificates and from the National Hospital Discharge Register. Data were analyzed by means of multiplicative Poisson regression models. We confirmed the increasing risk for cirrhosis with increasing alcohol intake. Individuals who drank more than 5 drinks per day had a relative risk of 14 to 20 for developing cirrhosis compared with non-or light drinkers. However, compared with individuals who drank no wine (relative risk set at 1.0), individuals drinking 16% to 30% wine of their total intake had a relative risk of 0.4 (95% confidence limits, 0.3-0.6) and those drinking 51% or more of wine had a relative risk of 0.3 (95% confidence limits, 0.2-0.5) for developing cirrhosis. In conclusion, the results suggest that a high intake of all 3 types of alcohol conveys an increased risk for cirrhosis, but wine drinkers are at a lower risk than beer and spirits drinkers. (HEPATOLOGY 2002;35:868-875.)

Objective To investigate whether people who buy wine buy healthier food items than those who buy beer. Design Cross sectional study. Setting Supermarkets in Denmark. Data Information on number, type of item, and total charge from 3.5 million transactions over a period of six months. Results Wine buyers bought more olives, fruit and vegetables, poultry, cooking oil, and low fat cheese, milk, and meat than beer buyers. Beer buyers bought more ready cooked dishes, sugar, cold cuts, chips, pork, butter or margarine, sausages, lamb, and soft drinks than wine buyers. Conclusions Wine buyers made more purchases of healthy food items than people who buy beer.

The objective was to study prospectively the relation between quantity and type of alcohol and risk of gastric cancer. In a pooled database from three population studies conducted in 1964-1992, a total of 15,236 men and 13,227 women were followed for a total of 389,051 person-years. During follow-up 122 incident cases of gastric cancer were identified. Total alcohol intake itself was not associated with gastric cancer, but type of alcohol seemed to influence risk. Compared with non-wine drinkers, participants who drank 1-6 glasses of wine had a relative risk ratio of 0.76 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.50-1.16), whereas those who drank >13 glasses of wine per week had a relative risk ratio of 0.16 (95% CI 0.02-1.18). Linear trend test showed a significant association with a relative risk ratio of 0.60 (95% CI 0.39-0.93) per glass of wine drunk per day. These relations persisted after adjustment for age, gender, educational level, body mass index, smoking habits, inhalation and physical activity. There was no association between beer or spirits drinking and gastric cancer. In conclusion, the present study suggests that a daily intake of wine may prevent development of gastric cancer.

Total alcohol intake of more than 27 drinks per week increases breast cancer risk in premenopausal women independently of the type of alcohol. Among postmenopausal women, an intake of spirits of more than six drinks per week increases breast cancer risk.

For alcohol consumption above the intake most frequently reported, the risk of breast cancer is increased. The risk is minor for moderate levels but increases for each additional drink consumed during the week. Weekend consumption and binge drinking imply an additional increase in breast cancer risk.

Studies have suggested that wine drinkers are at lower risk of death than beer or spirit drinkers. The aim of this study is to examine whether the risk of becoming a heavy drinker or developing alcoholic cirrhosis differs among individuals who prefer different types of alcoholic beverages. In a longitudinal setting we found that both the risk of becoming a heavy or excessive drinker (above 14 and 21 drinks per week for women and above 21 and 35 drinks per week for men) and the risk of developing alcoholic cirrhosis depended on the individuals preference of wine, beer or spirits. We conclude that moderate wine drinkers appear to be at lower risk of becoming heavy and excessive drinkers and that this may add to the explanation of the reported beverage-specific differences in morbidity and mortality.

Persons with stable patterns of light and moderate alcohol intake had the lowest all-cause mortality. Individual changes in alcohol intake were followed by corresponding changes in mortality.