Moderate drinking has no health benefits, analysis of decades of research findings

For decades, scientific research has suggested that moderate drinking is healthier than not drinking at all for most people, and can even extend their lifespan.

A new analysis of more than 40 years of research concludes that many of those studies are flawed and the opposite is true.

This review found that drinking alcohol in women significantly increases the risk of early death 25 grams of alcohol per day, That’s less than two standard cocktails, including 1.5 ounces of spirits, two 12 ounces of beer, or two 5 ounces of wine. Men’s risk increases significantly with 45 grams of alcohol per day, or just over 3 drinks.

The new report, which analyzed more than 100 studies involving nearly 5 million adults, is not about making recommendations about drinking, but about the methodological problems that plagued many of the older observational studies. Created to fix. These reports consistently found that moderate drinkers were less likely to die from all causes, including those not related to alcohol consumption.

Most of these studies were observational and although they were able to identify associations and associations, they were misleading and did not prove causation. Scientists have failed to recognize in previous studies that light and moderate drinkers have a myriad of other healthy habits and benefits, and the abstainers used as a comparison group had no health benefits. He said that they often included ex-drinkers who quit alcohol after developing problems with alcohol.

“When we compare this unhealthy group to those who continue to drink, current drinkers appear healthier and appear to have lower mortality,” says one of the authors, a scientist at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research. said Tim Stockwell.of New report published on JAMA Network Open last week.

As Dr. Stockwell and his colleagues corrected these and other errors, he said:

Dr. Stockwell said the comparison between moderate drinkers and non-drinkers is flawed for many reasons. are more likely to have chronic health problems, a disability, or be on a low-income background.

Moderate drinkers tend to be moderate in all respects. They are wealthier, more likely to exercise and eat healthier, and less likely to be overweight. They even have better teeth, scientists say.

“They do a lot of things that have nothing to do with alcohol use to protect their health,” Dr. Stockwell said.

The idea that moderate drinking is beneficial dates back to 1924, when a biologist named Raymond Pearl at Johns Hopkins University published a graph of the J-shaped curve. all causes.

High points on J represent well-known risks of heavy alcohol consumption, such as liver disease and car accidents. The left hook represents an abstainer.

In recent decades, after news articles highlighted high levels of a protective antioxidant called resveratrol, which is also found in blueberries and cranberries, wine, especially red wine, has been shown to have many health benefits. It has gained a reputation for having

However, it has become clear that the alcohol industry has a role to play in funding research, and recent studies have shown that even moderate consumption of alcohol, including red wine, can may contribute These include breast cancer, esophageal cancer, head and neck cancer, high blood pressure, and a serious arrhythmia called atrial fibrillation.

in January, Canada issues new guidelines A new guidance issued by the Canadian Center for Drug Use and Addiction states that women should drink 10 standard drinks a week. Until then, it was a big departure from the 2011 guidelines, which recommended that men limit themselves to 15 drinks.

A Canadian agency now says that drinking just two standard drinks a week poses a health risk, and drinking seven or more times a week increases the risk.

Current U.S. dietary guidelines are less stringent, recommending no more than two drinks per day for men and no more than one drink per day for women.

However, guidelines on alcohol consumption issued by many health organizations have been amended to include the caveat that people should not drink alcohol for the express purpose of improving their health.

This warning was repeated by a scientist at the Distillery Council, but she disputed the new report’s findings.

Amanda Berger, vice president of science and health at the Distilled Spirits Council, said the new analysis still “suggests that people who drink in moderation live longer than those who don’t.” , added, “You shouldn’t drink alcohol to gain potential health.” Some people don’t drink at all. “

But a new analysis shows that moderate drinkers have no statistically significant longevity advantage compared to lifelong abstainers, the study authors said.