Abstract
BACKGROUND: Childhood cancers are a leading cause of death among children worldwide. Maternal alcohol consumption before and during pregnancy has been suggested as a potential risk factor for childhood cancers. However, the evidence to support this association is inconsistent. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to clarify this association. METHODS: We performed a systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases until May 2023 to identify observational studies reporting associations between maternal alcohol consumption and childhood cancers. Heterogeneity between studies was evaluated using the χ2, τ2, and I2 statistics. Publication bias was assessed using Begg and Egger tests. We calculated the odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) using a random-effects model. RESULTS: Out of 18,583 studies retrieved from the search, 31 studies involving 47,277 participants met the eligibility criteria. Our meta-analysis found that maternal alcohol consumption before and during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of childhood cancers with OR of 1.15 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.33) and 1.11 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.20), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis found evidence of a positive association between maternal alcohol consumption before and during pregnancy and the risk of childhood cancers. These findings suggest a need for public health interventions aimed at reducing alcohol consumption during pregnancy to potentially prevent childhood cancers.