Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27842506›Full record

SynthesisBMC cancer2016

Is alcohol consumption a risk factor for prostate cancer? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Jinhui Zhao, Tim Stockwell, Audra Roemer, Tanya Chikritzhs

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC cancer, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 72 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
72citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

72 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Inflammatory cytokines and alcohol use disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis.Revista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999) · 2022
    Pooled it
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  10. Trial
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  16. Occupational Exposure to Engine Exhausts and Prostate Cancer Risk.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2025
    Article
  17. Sex-Specific Multimorbidity-Multibehaviour Patterns in Primary Care Populations.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Observational
  18. Article
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  20. Article

12 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Jinhui ZhaoCentre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700 STN CSC, Victoria, BC, V8Y 2E4, Canada. zhaoj@uvic.ca.
Tim StockwellCentre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700 STN CSC, Victoria, BC, V8Y 2E4, Canada.
Audra RoemerCentre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700 STN CSC, Victoria, BC, V8Y 2E4, Canada.
Tanya ChikritzhsNational Drug Research Institute, Curtin University, GPO box U1987, Perth, 6845, WA, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundResearch on a possible causal association between alcohol consumption and risk of prostate cancer is inconclusive. Recent studies on associations between alcohol consumption and other health outcomes suggest these are influenced by drinker misclassification errors and other study quality characteristics. The influence of these factors on estimates of the relationship between alcohol consumption and prostate cancer has not been previously investigated.

methodsPubMed and Web of Science searches were made for case-control and cohort studies of alcohol consumption and prostate cancer morbidity and mortality (ICD-10: C61) up to December 2014. Studies were coded for drinker misclassification errors, quality of alcohol measures, extent of control for confounding and other study characteristics. Mixed models were used to estimate relative risk (RR) of morbidity or mortality from prostate cancer due to alcohol consumption with study level controls for selection bias and confounding.

resultsA total of 340 studies were identified of which 27 satisfied inclusion criteria providing 126 estimates for different alcohol exposures. Adjusted RR estimates indicated a significantly increased risk of prostate cancer among low (RR = 1.08, P < 0.001), medium (RR = 1.07, P < 0.01), high (RR = 1.14, P < 0.001) and higher (RR = 1.18, P < 0.001) volume drinkers compared to abstainers. There was a significant dose-response relationship for current drinkers (P

conclusionOur study finds, for the first time, a significant dose-response relationship between level of alcohol intake and risk of prostate cancer starting with low volume consumption (>1.3, <24 g per day). This relationship is stronger in the relatively few studies free of former drinker misclassification error. Given the high prevalence of prostate cancer in the developed world, the public health implications of these findings are significant. Prostate cancer may need to be incorporated into future estimates of the burden of disease alongside other cancers (e.g. breast, oesophagus, colon, liver) and be integrated into public health strategies for reducing alcohol related disease.

Indexed as

Alcohol DrinkingHumansMaleMorbidityMortalityOdds RatioProstatic NeoplasmsRisk AssessmentRisk FactorsAlcoholMeta–analysisMisclassification errorProstate cancer

Identifiers

PMID27842506
PMCPMC5109713

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.