A comprehensive, up-to-date review of scientific studies, published on the American Medical Association’s JAMA Network Open on Friday, concludes that drinking low or moderate amounts of alcohol daily does not increase the risk of death from all causes among men. and women.
On the other hand, the researchers found that if consumption is high, especially for women, the probability of death from various diseases also increases.
The researchers considered the following groups:
• abstainers (people who never drink alcohol);
• individuals who drink occasionally (less than 9.1 g per week);
• individuals who drink little (1.3 g to 24 g per day);
• individuals who drink moderately (from 25 g to 44 g per day);
• individuals who drink high volumes (45 g to 64 g per day);
• individuals who drink in large quantities (above 65 g per day).
Comparisons were made between the group that never ingested alcohol and those that drank.
To get an idea, a can of beer (350 ml) with an alcohol content of 5% has around 14 g of alcohol, an amount similar to a glass of wine (90 ml) with an alcohol content of 12.5%.
Cachaça, vodka, gin or whiskey, for example, have around 25 g per dose (30 ml).
In this way, it is understood as a moderate consumption of around two cans of beer or two glasses of wine or even a dose and a half of distillate per day.
The safe amount of alcohol is the subject of many scientific studies, which do not always reach the same conclusion.
There is work to suggest that any dose increases the risk of health problems.
The article published in JAMA Network Open today uses improved methods of qualitative data compilation and evaluation.
The researchers reviewed 107 previous studies that addressed the relationship between alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality, which included more than 4.8 million people, published between 1980 and July 2021.
The group was also careful to calibrate possible study biases, such as people who had been heavy drinkers in their lives, but no longer drank at the time of the research — in these individuals, the harmful effects of excessive alcohol in the past can have an impact on mortality.
“In the fully adjusted model, there was a non-significant increased risk of all-cause mortality among those drinking 25 g to 44 g per day and a significantly increased risk for those drinking 45 g to 64 g and 65 g or more per day ”, write the researchers in the article.
The greater risks of alcohol abuse among women — previously known — were noted in the study.
“Our study also found gender differences in the risk of all-cause mortality. A greater risk of all-cause mortality for women than for men was observed when drinking 25 g or more per day, including a significant increase in the risk of mid-level drinking for women that was not seen for men.” , note the authors.
