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Drinking Reduces Bladder Cancer Risk
HSPH researchers have found that fluid consumption
is inversely related with risk of bladder cancer. The
study, "Fluid Intake and the Risk of Bladder Cancer in
Men," appears in the May 6 New England Journal of
Medicine.
Working with data from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, a prospective study of nearly 48,000 men, the authors determined that fluid consumption of any kind reduces risk of bladder cancer in men.
"Bladder cancer is the fourth-leading type of cancer in men, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, with about 40,000 cases diagnosed each year," said lead author Dominique Michaud, researcher in the Department of Nutrition. "Each year, over 12,000 people die from bladder cancer."
The study participants reported their intake of foods and 22 different beverages on a food-frequency questionnaire. The average respondent drank seven eight-ounce beverages a day. After adjusting for known and suspected risk factors for bladder cancer, the researchers found that men who drank ten eight-ounce beverages a day had a 50% lower risk of bladder cancer, compared to those who drank less than six glasses each day.
"The type of beverage didn't affect our results," said Michaud, "although we saw the greatest results from those who drank water.
"Smoking is the primary cause of bladder
cancer," added Michaud. "The first step towards reducing risk
of bladder cancer is to quit smoking. The second step is
to drink more--one additional glass of water with
each meal raises the average man's fluid intake to ten
glasses per day, achieving the reduction in risk that we found
in our study. Drinking water is an inexpensive, easy
way for people to reduce their cancer risk."
Dominique Michaud, postdoc-toral fellow in the Department
of Nutrition, is the lead author of a study of the relationship
between fluid consumption and bladder cancer in men. This
photograph was taken for use in the HSPH 1996-97
Official Register, in which Michaud, then a
student, was featured as a representative of the Department of
Nutrition.
