There are many myths and half-truths about alcohol consumption. Among other things, for example, moderate drinking of certain alcoholic beverages can prolong life. However, a recent meta-analysis of the effects of alcohol on longevity found that a glass of red wine with dinner was unlikely to protect against premature death.
A scientific team led by Professor Jinhui Zhao from the University of Victoria in Canada sought an answer to the question. “What is the relationship between average daily alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality?” These were the results It was published Friday, March 31, in the journal JAMA Network Open.
But what about alcohol?
A previous meta-analysis of the relationship between alcohol use and mortality did not find a statistically significant reduction in mortality risk for low-level alcohol users compared with lifetime abstainers. However, risk estimates may be affected by the number and quality of studies available at the time, particularly those involving women and younger cohorts.
The researchers therefore systematically accessed the PubMed and Web of Science databases to identify studies published between January 1980 and July 2021. To model the relative risks, they used mixed linear regression models, first pooling across all studies and then stratifying by (less) median age of the cohort. under 56 years and over 56 years) and sex.
A meta-analysis based on 107 cohort studies involving 4,838,825 participants, found no significant reduction in the risk of death in alcohol users compared to lifelong abstainersdrinking less than 25 grams of ethanol per day. The amount of ethanol given corresponds to about a pint of 12° beer, less than 2 deciliters of wine, or 0.5 deciliters of distillate.
Bye
Even in the case of alcohol, the age-tested phrases “good enough” or “nothing in excess” apply. Female consumers who drank 25 or more grams of ethanol per day and consumers who drank 45 or more grams of ethanol per day had a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality.
“In this updated systematic review and meta-analysis low or moderate daily alcohol intake was not significantly associated with mortality riskAn increased risk was observed in women starting at lower levels and at higher levels of consumption than in men.” scientists report at the conclusion of their work.
“Our study gives strong reason to question the comforting notion that moderate alcohol is beneficial to health.” study co-author Tim Stockwell, in an email to the medical web journal MedPage Today, added that the topic is still controversial.