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Less alcohol is still too much Does a daily wine damage our health?
In the past, various scientific studies have suggested that moderate drinking can be good for your health. Canadian researchers have now analyzed several studies on the subject more closely and concluded: A health benefit from alcohol is not proven.
Positive effects of alcohol refuted
Nobody can deny a glass in honor, it says in an old proverb. In the past, several studies have even concluded that moderately consumed alcohol can serve as protection against cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, it is known that alcohol increases the risk of numerous diseases such as hypertension, fatty liver or various cancers. Scientists have been arguing for a long time about whether moderate drinking is really healthy. Last year, British researchers published in the journal "British Medical Journal" a study that refuted the positive effects of alcohol. Canadian researchers have now re-evaluated a variety of scientific studies and also came to the conclusion: Even moderate alcohol consumption is not health-promoting.
Previous studies have suggested a health benefit from moderate alcohol consumption. A large study by Canadian scientists now comes to different conclusions. (Image: Africa Studio / fotolia.com) Moderate alcohol consumption does not increase life expectancy
Many people still believe that having a glass of wine a day makes them live longer and healthier lives. However, the scientific evidence available is "shaky at best", reports the journal "Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs". The current issue of the journal features a comprehensive study by Canadian researchers from the Center for Addiction Research at the University of Victoria on the subject.
The researchers at the British Columbia Center for Addiction Research evaluated the results of 87 older studies in their comprehensive research to find out about the possible health benefits of alcohol consumption. Her conclusion, however, is sobering. Much of the study, which found benefits, was flawed and the results therefore unreliable. In the opinion of study author Tim Stockwell, there are many reasons to be skeptical about claims about supposed positive health effects of moderate alcohol consumption.
Studies with significant weaknesses
Numerous positive effects of moderate alcohol consumption up to a significant extension of life expectancy were found in the evaluated studies, but on closer inspection the studies showed considerable weaknesses. Many were flawed and designed in the study design in such a way that advantages were found in places, where actually no advantages are to be found, the researchers report. For example, the key questions in the research are how the "abstainers" were defined, and then compared to the group of moderate alcohol consumers, said Tim Stockwell, director of the Center for Addiction Research in British Columbia. For example, mostly moderate drinkers (up to two drinks per day) were compared to "current" teetotalers, but the group of teetotalers could include people in particularly poor health, for whom alcohol consumption was therefore excluded.
No causal connection given
If the group of abstainers was adjusted for persons with particularly high levels of health problems, the studies criticized showed no advantages of moderate alcohol consumption compared to abstinence, Stockwell and colleagues report. Only 13 out of the 87 studies had a disproportionately negative bias on the abstainers in their design and no health benefits of alcohol consumption were found in these studies, the researchers write. After adjusting the data used, it was also shown that people who consumed less than one drink a week had the highest life expectancy. In view of the extremely low alcohol intake and irregular consumption, however, no causal link can be assumed here.
Implausible benefits with moderate alcohol consumption described
In the present studies, moderate consumption of alcohol resulted in an implausible wide range of health benefits, says study author Stockwell. For example, moderate alcohol users have shown a lower risk of deafness or even cirrhosis of the liver than abstainers. "Either alcohol is a panacea ... or moderate alcohol consumption is actually an indication of other factors," says Stockwell. Furthermore, according to the researchers, there were no effects on longevity with regard to the different types of alcoholic beverages. "But even if that were the case, it's unlikely that the alcohol content itself is the cause," says Stockwell. (fp, ad)