Low/moderate drinking has health benefits a myth: study

Toronto: A new study found out that there is no strong foundation in the argument that alcohol has health benefits or low and moderate drinkers are less likely to die early than total abstainers, IANS reported.

The study, which subjected around 4.8 million people, suggested that heavy drinking cause early death while moderate or occasional drinks offer no health benefits and might not be harmful.

The debates about the benefits and disadvantages of alcohol have always been there. Some studies claim that alcohol, even at smaller levels, could kill, but others suggest health benefits.

In the new study, researchers from the universities of Victoria and Portsmouth in Canada and the UK, respectively, made a systematic review and meta-analysis of 107 studies published between 1980 and 2021.

Their findings suggest that low and moderate drinkers have similar mortality rates to those who abstain entirely. Also, high-level consumption of alcohol is particularly harmful.

Women are more susceptible to early death from higher alcohol consumption than men.

"In this updated systematic review and meta-analysis, daily low or moderate alcohol intake was not significantly associated with all-cause mortality risk," the research report states. However, "increased risk was evident at higher consumption levels, starting at lower levels for women than men."

But it showed an increased risk of all-cause mortality for drinkers who drank 25 g or more and a significantly increased risk when drinking 45 g or more per day.

When they looked at previous studies that suggest people who drink a little are less likely to die early or from heart disease than people who don't drink at all, they found the evidence was skewed by systematic bias.

"For example, light and moderate drinkers are systematically healthier than current abstainers on a range of health indicators unlikely to be associated with alcohol use, (like) dental hygiene, exercise routines, diet, weight (and) income," the researchers suggested.

The study report was published on the JAMA Open Network.