How does regular alcohol consumption of more than 100 g/week affect all-cause mortality and the risk of cardiovascular sequelae? A recent study by the University of Cambridge has recorded the drinking behavior of 600,000 people from 19 countries – and recommends a correction of the limits for alcohol consumption.
Question wording: How does regular alcohol consumption of more than 100 g/week (approximately two liters of beer or one bottle of wine) affect all-cause mortality and the risk of cardiovascular sequelae?
Background: Internationally, there are very different limits regarding risky alcohol consumption. In the USA, Canada and Sweden, for example, upper limits for men are defined in the recommendations as 196 g/week (for women as 98 g/week). In Italy, Portugal and Spain, these limits are about 50% higher. Moreover, there is still disagreement about whether and why there is a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease from moderate alcohol consumption (“French paradox”).
Patients and methodology: Under the direction of Angela Wood and John Danesh of Cambridge University, the drinking habits of nearly 600,000 people from 19 countries worldwide were recorded. These are countries with an average high income. Study data were from 83 prospective studies that enrolled subjects between 1964 and 2014. The study controlled for occupation, education level, tobacco use, and age. A total of eight subgroups with different levels of alcohol consumption were formed and compared.
Results: Increasing alcohol consumption increases all-cause mortality. Already from about 100 g alcohol consumption per week, the mortality risk for men and women increases. There is a clear dose-dependent effect: consumption of more than 200 g/week shortens life expectancy by one to two years. If consumption exceeds 350 g/week, life expectancy decreases by up to five years. Furthermore, the risk of heart attacks was shown to decrease with moderate consumption. However, the risk of other cardiovascular diseases such as fatal heart failure, hypertension, aneurysms and strokes increases.
Authors’ conclusions: these results suggest that the threshold for low-risk alcohol consumption is less than 100 g/week. If this limit is exceeded, there is a linear increase in total mortality. Thus, the current recommendations regarding low-risk alcohol consumption in terms of health must be revised downward in many countries.
InFo NEUROLOGY & PSYCHIATRY 2018; 16(3): 40.
