World-first trial in a breast screening service targeting women’s low awareness of the link between alcohol and breast cancer
Monash University, Turning Point and the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) have developed a successful alcohol intervention for women attending breast screening appointments, as part of a world-first trial.
Published in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA), the study improved participants’ knowledge about alcohol and its link with breast cancer.
Alcohol is a major modifiable risk factor for female breast cancer; in Australia, alcohol consumption accounts for 6.6 per cent of cases in post-menopausal women, and 18 per cent of breast cancer deaths. Yet, awareness of this risk remains surprisingly low and is not systematically addressed in healthcare settings.
Research shows women drinking at even very low levels face an elevated risk of breast cancer.
Risky drinking has significantly increased among midlife and older aged women, a cohort that is at highest lifetime risk of developing breast cancer.
The study, led by Dr Jasmin Grigg, included 557 women with an average age of 60 years who attended routine breast screening at Maroondah BreastScreen (Eastern Health, Melbourne) between February and August 2021.
The majority of study participants (82%) had recently consumed alcohol products, and just one in five (20%) were aware that drinking alcohol was a risk factor for breast cancer.
After receiving the Health4Her intervention, a significantly greater proportion of participants (65%) were aware that drinking alcohol products increases the risk of breast cancer
(For more….Source: The National Tribune )
