Heart HealthTwo drinks a day carry a 1-in-25 lifetime risk of alcohol-related death
Alcohol and longevity: a new study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs suggests that what many people call moderate drinking is riskier than assumed. The Alcohol Intake and Health Study, commissioned by the U.S. federal government to inform dietary guidance, estimated that people averaging 14 drinks a week, or two a day, face a 1 in 25 lifetime risk of dying from alcohol-related causes. Drinking up to seven drinks weekly was linked to only small risk increases for most conditions. Researchers reviewed more than 7,200 publications on alcohol-related illness and injury, then combined those estimates with national health data in statistical models. They found no significant overall health benefit from moderate drinking, and risk rose as consumption increased. The harms covered cancers such as esophageal, oral and breast, plus cardiovascular disease, liver disease and injuries. The authors say the new U.S. Dietary Guidelines say only to limit alcohol, with no numeric threshold.
