Research shows even low-volume daily servings of alcohol can increase risk of death
In fact, drinking a low-volume daily serving of alcohol, less than 1 oz for women and 1.5 oz for men, actually increased the risk of death.
Hyderabad: New research has shattered the myth that moderate drinking can be beneficial to your health. The study, published in ‘JAMA Network Open’, analysed over 100 studies and found that occasional drinking and drinking less than one drink per week did not significantly reduce the risk of death from any cause.
In fact, drinking a low-volume daily serving of alcohol, less than 1 oz for women and 1.5 oz for men, actually increased the risk of death.
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The study, which encompassed almost 5 million people in total, also revealed significantly larger risks of death among females who drank alcohol compared to those who never drank. This finding is particularly concerning given that many women believe that moderate drinking can be beneficial to their health.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines moderate alcohol intake as seven servings of alcohol or fewer for women and 14 servings of alcohol or fewer for men per week. However, the study found that even this low-volume daily serving of alcohol can increase the risk of death.
The researchers also considered how different factors, such as a person’s overall health aside from their alcohol consumption, could have led to bias in previous studies. The study concluded that not only was there no significant health benefit to moderate alcohol consumption, but also that it can do more harm than good.
While researchers used all available published studies on the topic of alcohol consumption’s link to all-cause mortality, they maintain that stronger studies are needed.
