Is Alcohol Really Good for you?

Abdulla, Sara

doi:10.1177/014107689709001204

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Although many benefits, including decreased mortality, 74 have been attributed to moderate alcohol consumption, the appropriateness of using nondrinkers as a reference group has been questioned. 75,76 To expand our understanding of the effects of alcohol on bone density, rigorous prospective studies are needed that carefully measure potential confounders. Because bone density reflects the cumulative effects of numerous factors on bone metabolism over long periods of time, future studies should adjust for baseline bone density.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association Between Alcohol Consumption and Both Osteoporotic Fracture and Bone Density

Berg

Kunins

Jackson

et al. 2008

The American Journal of Medicine

279

194

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association Between Alcohol Consumption and Both Osteoporotic Fracture and Bone Density

Berg

Kunins

Jackson

et al. 2008

The American Journal of Medicine

279

194

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“…Some direct beneficial effect is, moreover physiologically plausible, as is shown later, and the ob-served relationship with vascular disease and hence with total mortality is most economically explained as one of cause and effect, a conclusion that was accepted a few years ago by the independent group of scientists who were commissioned by the European Office of the World Health Organization to prepare a report on alcohol and public policy [14]. The effect is, moreover, large: not the 1-3 fewer heart attacks per 1000 person-years, as estimated by Shaper [15] but a 20% reduction in total mortality standardized for age from early middle age on [8].…”

Section: The Prophylactic Value Of Alcoholic Beveragesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The benefit of alcohol in moderation

Doll¹

1998

Drug and Alcohol Review

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Small amounts of alcohol were held to be beneficial in the 19th century, but the idea died out. Scientific evidence that moderate amounts prolonged life, published in 1926, was ignored. Further evidence accumulated from the early 1950s but the belief that alcohol was only harmful had become so ingrained that the idea has been taken seriously only since the early 1980s. Now, the evidence that small amounts reduce the risk of vascular disease by about a third and reduce total mortality in middle and old age is massive. Alternative explanations for the observed inverse relationships have been ruled out and beneficial effects have been shown to be biologically plausible. The reduction in mortality is mainly attributable to ischaemic heart disease and cerebral thrombosis, but some other diseases may also contribute to it. The increasing mortality with larger amounts is attributable to many causes that have long been recognized. The optimum level varies with sex and age and may be zero under about age 45 years. The benefit is directly due to ethanol and the extra benefit attributed to wine is due to the pattern of drinking. Public policy needs to take account of medical and social effects other than mortality and will vary in different communities depending on background patterns of injury and disease.

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