Karalexi MA, et al. – This study's aspiration was to systematically assess and quantitatively synthesize published data on the association of paternal consumption during preconception and maternal consumption during pregnancy with leukemia risk in childhood (0–14 years). During index pregnancy, sizeable, statistically significant dose–response association between maternal alcohol consumption and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) risk was outlined.

Methods

• PubMed (until February 2016) and the reference lists of the relevant studies were searched, following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.
• Eligibility criteria was met by observational studies examining the association between parental alcohol consumption and childhood leukemia.
• Researchers pooled data extracted from 39 case–control studies (over 16000 leukemia cases and 30000 controls) and estimated summary-effect estimates.
• In addition, subgroup analyses were carried out by main acute leukemia type [lymphoblastic or myeloid), cytogenetics/genetic polymorphisms, and specific alcohol beverages.

Results

• There was a statistically significant dose–response association of any level of maternal alcohol consumption compared with nondrinking during pregnancy exclusively with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) [odds ratio (OR)moderate consumption: 1.64, 95% confidence intervals (CIs): 1.23–2.17 and ORhigh consumption: 2.36, 95% CI: 1.60–3.49].
• They did not observe any association of paternal preconception consumption with any leukemia type.
• Only a positive association of maternal wine drinking with childhood AML was found, which was more pronounced in analyses including only studies on infant leukemia (ORwine: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.16–3.90), in beverage-specific analyses.