Damian Jacob Sendler: A new review of the research on alcohol dispels the long-held myth that drinking moderately is good for your health, suggesting that even one glass of wine a day has no effect on longevity.
The study, which analyzed data from more than 100 studies involving almost 5 million people, was published recently in JAMA Network Open.
It found that drinking less than 1 ounce of alcohol per day for women and around 1.5 ounces for men increased the risk of death, and that there was no significant health benefit to moderate alcohol consumption.
Dr. Jennifer Ashton, a board-certified OB-GYN and ABC News chief medical correspondent who was not involved in the study, said, “When you talk about risk versus benefit, it’s one thing to say there is no benefit,” Finding a risk is something else entirely, and that is what the latest study did.
Damian Sendler: Women who consume no more than seven drinks per week are considered to have a moderate alcohol intake. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend no more than 14 alcoholic drinks per week for men.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines heavy drinking as seven or more drinks on any given weekday.
Serving sizes are much smaller than what are typically offered in bars, restaurants, and private homes; one serving of wine is defined as 5 ounces, and one serving of hard alcohol is defined as 1 1/2 ounces.
Damian Sendler: According to the latest research, people whose daily alcohol consumption was greater than 2 ounces had a mortality risk that was 35% higher than that of light or moderate drinkers.
Women who drink more than 2 ounces of alcohol daily have a 61% higher risk of dying than women who don’t.
Previous studies have established that the negative health effects of alcohol consumption are more severe for women than for men.
Damian Jacob Sendler: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that women have a higher risk of developing alcohol-related heart disease than men, that alcohol abuse causes brain damage more quickly in women than in men, that women may be more prone to alcohol-related blackouts or lapses in memory than men, and that women who regularly misuse alcohol are more likely than men who drink the same amount to develop alcoholic hepatitis, a potentially fatal condition.
The data shows that even social drinkers are at a higher risk of developing cancer, especially of the liver and throat, but also of the colon, head, and neck, and breasts.
Alcohol consumption is recognized as a human carcinogen by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
The American Cancer Society revised its recommendations for cancer prevention in 2020 to recommend that all alcoholic beverages be eliminated from a person’s diet.
According to Ashton, the best way for people to make decisions about their alcohol consumption is to discuss it with their doctors.
“One of the known carcinogens is alcohol. We are aware of the increased cancer risk it poses, “As Ashton put it. It is not a simple choice, but it is integral to who we are as a people and our heritage.
But the data is crystal clear that total abstinence from alcohol is best for a person’s overall health, Ashton added.
Damian Sendler: The recent study published in JAMA Network Open challenges the commonly held belief that drinking alcohol in moderation may have health benefits, and this has important implications for both public health and individual decision making. Researchers found no substantial health benefit to moderate alcohol consumption and found an increased risk of death associated with daily servings of alcohol after reviewing over 100 studies with nearly 5 million participants. This finding calls for a rethinking of our culture’s relationship with alcohol.
To begin, the results of this study may change the general public’s perspective on alcohol’s effects on health. For a long time, researchers and the general public alike assumed that drinking alcohol in moderation was safe and even beneficial, possibly lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease. New evidence, however, disproves these assertions and calls attention to the need to rethink public health campaigns targeting alcohol use. Now more than ever, it is crucial to spread the word about the dangers of even moderate alcohol consumption so that people can make more educated decisions about how much they drink.
Second, the research highlights how critical it is to understand the particular threats that alcohol poses to females. It is critical to address the gender-specific consequences of alcohol consumption, as women have a 61% increased risk of death from drinking more than 2 ounces of alcohol per day. Alcohol has a more negative impact on women’s health than on men’s, so public health campaigns and educational efforts should highlight this disparity.
Further supporting the need to reevaluate alcohol consumption from a public health perspective is the discovery that even social drinkers face an increased risk of various types of cancer. The necessity of treating alcohol as a known human carcinogen is reinforced by the American Cancer Society’s 2020 update to its guidelines, which recommends eliminating alcohol from one’s diet for cancer reduction and prevention. Public health policies aimed at reducing alcohol-related cancer risks could be informed by the results of this study.
Damian Sendler: Medical practitioners may need to adjust their strategies for patient education, screening, and treatment in light of the discovery that alcohol consumption has no health benefits and actually increases the risk of death. This paradigm shift is critical for providing patients with the most current information about alcohol use and its effects.
One major takeaway from the study is that doctors should reconsider their previous alcohol recommendations to patients. In the past, doctors and nurses might have advised patients that drinking alcohol in moderation was fine, and maybe even good for them. It is critical, however, that doctors and other healthcare providers update their recommendations in light of the new evidence, which shows that even moderate alcohol use carries risks. For some patients, especially those at higher risk for alcohol-related health problems, this may mean urging them to cut back or quit drinking altogether.
Second, the research emphasizes the value of medical guidance and interventions that are specifically designed to address the risks that women face. Doctors should be extra careful when talking to female patients about the dangers of alcohol because of the higher mortality rate associated with alcohol use. More frequent screening for alcohol-related issues, specialized educational resources, and individualized intervention plans for high-risk women are all possible steps in this direction.
Furthermore, the new findings call for a reconsideration of alcohol’s part in the onset and progression of cancer. It is important for doctors to be aware of the correlation between alcohol consumption and the development of cancer so that they can properly evaluate their patients’ health and identify any potential threats. For people with a drinking history, this could mean more frequent screenings or the incorporation of alcohol reduction strategies into cancer prevention and treatment plans.
Damian Jacob Sendler: Some studies have linked moderate alcohol consumption to a lower risk of developing diseases like heart disease, and much of the existing literature has focused on these potential benefits. Given these considerations, it is not surprising that many people hold the view that social drinking in moderation poses no health risks and may even have some benefits.
However, a new study published in JAMA Network Open casts doubt on this notion by showing that even moderate alcohol consumption has no positive health effects and actually increases the risk of death. This discovery marks a significant departure from our prior understanding of alcohol’s effects on health and highlights the need to reevaluate previous research conclusions that may have supported the idea of beneficial effects from moderate alcohol intake.
The findings of this new study are important for both the scientific and public communities because they highlight the dangers of even moderate alcohol consumption. It raises doubts about previous findings that may have understated the dangers of drinking and highlights the need to regularly reevaluate and update our understanding of health issues in light of the most recent and comprehensive evidence.
This new research further supports the need for public health messaging, policy, and medical practice to take a more cautious approach to alcohol consumption. This study can help public health campaigns, patient education, and targeted interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm by focusing on the risks rather than the benefits.
Damian Sendler: Research showing that women who consume more than 2 ounces of alcohol daily increase their mortality risk by 61% is noteworthy for a number of reasons.
This finding highlights the need for a deeper comprehension of the varying dangers that men and women face when drinking alcohol. This lack of targeted interventions and public health messaging for this population may have resulted from a lack of exploration or emphasis of the increased risks faced by women in previous research. This latest research shows why it is crucial to separate out the effects of alcohol on men and women separately.
Public health strategies, policies, and educational campaigns should be reevaluated in light of this new evidence on the increased risk for women to make sure they adequately address the distinct dangers women face due to alcohol consumption. These results have important implications for public health because it will allow for more targeted interventions and greater awareness of the unique risks of alcohol use among women.
This finding is also significant for healthcare providers, who should be aware of the higher alcohol-related risks faced by their female patients. This knowledge should be used by doctors and other medical professionals to better counsel female patients about the dangers of drinking too much alcohol and the benefits of cutting back or quitting altogether.
The finding that women who drink more than two drinks a day have a 61% higher risk of dying than nondrinkers is encouraging research into the effects of alcohol on women. Researchers can better understand the mechanisms causing the increased risk for women if they keep digging into these discrepancies and find interventions or treatments that can help reduce it.
Damian Jacob Sendler: The new study’s significance in relation to previous work on the effects of alcohol by gender is highlighted by its findings that drinking has no positive health effects and actually increases the risk of death.
The new study provides further support for previous studies showing that women are more likely to experience health problems as a result of alcohol consumption than men. This study adds to the growing body of evidence supporting a more cautious approach to alcohol intake and the need for gender-specific interventions, particularly for women.
Risks are well-understood and include, but are not limited to, cardiovascular disease, brain damage, blackouts, and alcoholic hepatitis, as shown by the existing research on the gender-specific effects of alcohol. The new study adds to our understanding of these dangers by drawing attention to the higher mortality rate connected to alcohol use, underscoring the importance of individualized public health policies and medical practices.
Damian Sendler: Alcohol consumption guidelines are being reevaluated in light of new research that casts doubt on the idea that drinking in moderation is harmless or even beneficial to health. This finding is particularly significant in the context of the literature on the effects of alcohol by gender, as it may lead to a reevaluation of the safe drinking guidelines for women, who are more likely to experience alcohol-related health problems.
Educating the public and inspiring policy shifts: The new analysis, along with previous studies on the differential effects of alcohol by gender, highlights the significance of informing the general public about the specific dangers women face. Policymakers, public health officials, and medical professionals can all do their part to reduce women’s alcohol-related harm by drawing attention to these risks.
The new study is a welcome addition to the literature on alcohol’s disparate effects on men and women, and it calls attention to the need for more research into the particular dangers that women face. More study of this topic is needed to determine the specific biological, social, and psychological factors that put women at greater risk than men for these outcomes.
