Moderate drinking increases health risks, but offers few benefits

For both men and women, drinking just one alcoholic drink a day increases the risk of liver cirrhosis, esophageal cancer, oral cancer and many types of injuries, according to a federal analysis released Tuesday.

Women have a higher risk of developing liver cancer even with this amount of alcohol. Drinking two drinks a day (twice the amount recommended for women by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, but currently allowed for men) increases the odds of death from alcohol in both men and women.

The report, produced by a scientific review committee under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human Services, is one of two dueling assessments used to shape the influential U.S. dietary guidelines this year. .

According to the American Cancer Society, some scientists have long suspected that the harms of moderate alcohol consumption, particularly the risk of cancer, the leading cause of death for Americans under 85, may be underestimated. There were concerns.

In December, a study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, a nongovernmental organization, reached a different conclusion from this latest report, finding that moderate drinking is associated with fewer deaths from heart attacks and strokes, and overall He said the number of deaths is also decreasing. without drinking.

The National Academies' analysis found that moderate drinking among women was associated with a small but significant increase in breast cancer, but said there was insufficient evidence linking alcohol to other cancers.

But this month, the U.S. Surgeon General, citing growing scientific evidence, called for alcohol to be labeled with cancer warnings similar to those on cigarettes. And a government report released on Tuesday found that the risk of cancer increases regardless of the amount of alcohol consumed, and that the risk of cancer increases as alcohol consumption increases.

“What many people may have previously thought of as 'moderate' drinking actually carries moderate risks,” said Timothy, one of the authors of the new report and director of the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research.・Mr. Naimi says.

Moderate alcohol consumption is recognized to have some protective effects. Women who drink one cup a day may have a lower risk of diabetes. However, the report found that the protective effect against stroke was negated by drinking two cups a day.

Even though one of the long-standing main arguments in favor of moderate drinking has been that it may protect against cardiovascular disease, no level of alcohol consumption provides protection against hemorrhagic stroke or ischemic heart disease. No effect was observed.

The new analysis made no specific suggestions about how much alcohol people should drink. That is up to the authors of the final dietary guidelines. However, the report shows that the health effects of alcohol start at very low levels of consumption and increase proportionately with intake.

“For me, the advice I would give to my loved ones is that the potential harms outweigh the potential benefits at low levels of alcohol consumption,” said Dr. Roberts, professor of epidemiology at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and director of the Scientific Review Board.

“Suggestions that low or moderate levels of consumption are generally harmless or beneficial are not supported by the data alone,” she added.

Other studies have shown that harmful drinking habits have become more common since the pandemic.

This analysis should be interpreted to mean there is no risk at all levels of alcohol consumption, said the report's other author, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Mental Health Policy and Research at the Canadian Center for Addiction and Mental Health. said Dr. Jürgen Rehm.

“Humans accept the risks of their activities and engage in mountain biking and other dangerous activities,” Dr. Rehm says. “If you take the normal criteria for high risk, that equates to just under one drink a day.”

But even though scientists first identified the link between alcohol and cancer more than 100 years ago, many Americans still don't realize it, he said.

Alcohol manufacturers attacked the new report, accusing the authors of bias and conflicts of interest.

“We are committed to science over bias,” the coalition representing 23 beer, wine and spirits companies said in a statement. Producers of wheat, barley and hops. Restaurant and bartender organization.

“This report reinforces our concerns that Americans' recommended dietary guidelines regarding alcohol are not based on overwhelming and sound scientific evidence.”

“Many lifestyle choices come with potential risks, and alcohol consumption is no exception,” the statement continued. “We encourage all adults who choose to consume alcohol to follow dietary guidelines and consult their health care provider.”

During the last review of dietary guidelines in 2020, scientific advisors proposed lowering the recommended amount to one drink a day for both men and women. However, the final guidelines did not change the recommended amounts of two drinks for men and one drink for women.

Alcohol consumption increases the risk of death from seven types of cancer, including breast, colorectal, and liver cancers, as well as cancers of the oral cavity, throat, larynx, and esophagus, according to a new report. It is said that it is related to

Although both men and women are susceptible to these health effects, women are far more likely to develop alcohol-related cancers, the report said.

The report, prepared with support from the Department of Health and Human Services' Interagency Coordinating Committee on Underage Drinking Prevention, also highlights the risk of death from traffic accidents and injuries faced by people who start drinking as teenagers. are.

For girls and boys who start drinking at age 15, the odds of dying from alcohol increase by more than 10 times as drinking increases from one drink a week to three drinks a day, according to the report, and young men The risk is higher.

The new report assessed evidence from previous reviews and observational studies that cannot prove that alcohol causes the disease. Data from randomized controlled trials that can demonstrate causality are very limited and are therefore not included.

Unlike the National Academies report that compared moderate and nondrinking alcohol consumption, the new analysis shows that varying levels of low alcohol consumption and the overall risk of death from health conditions and accidents causally linked to alcohol consumption in the United States The relationship with was evaluated.

This conclusion applies to all types of alcohol, including wine, beer, and spirits.

The public will have the opportunity to comment on two reports released by the National Academies and the Intergovernmental Commission from Wednesday until February 14th.