Alcohol is a colossal global killer, no amount safe to consume, says major study  

Before pouring yourself an alcoholic beverage, beware. A recent meta-analysis study analyzing over 1,000 studies spanning between 1990 and 2016, came to the conclusion that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. 

Even evidence of light or moderate drinking as having a beneficial health effect was found to not be the case. Dr. Max Griswold of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington who led the study team stated, “Although health risks associated with alcohol start off being small with one drink a day, they then rise rapidly as people drink more.” He went on to say, “Previous studies have found a protective effect of alcohol on some conditions, but we found that the combined health risks associated with alcohol increase with any amount of alcohol.”  The study also concluded that any protection alcohol may provide against heart disease is outweighed by the health problems it causes, particularly cancer.

Specific findings from this study showed that one in three people worldwide (2.4 billion people) drink alcohol and that 6.8 percent of men and 2.2 percent of women die of alcohol-related health problems each year.

Worldwide, alcohol use was the seventh-leading risk factor for early death and disability in 2016. It was the top cause for early death and disability among 15- to 49-year-olds, accounting for one in 10 deaths. In this age group, the main causes of alcohol-related deaths were tuberculosis, road injuries, and self-harm.

Among people 50 and older, cancer was a leading cause of alcohol-related death, accounting for 27 percent of death in women and nearly 19 percent of deaths in men.

How the United States fits into these figures is unclear. The U.S. was not among the top or bottom 10 for the most or the heaviest drinkers in 2016.  Denmark led the list for most drinkers (97 percent of men and 95 percent of women), while Romania (men) and Ukraine (women) had the heaviest drinkers.

One thing to take into consideration from this study is that worldwide, government guidelines for alcohol consumption vary widely. For instance, here in the U.S., the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a tool to help Americans make healthy choices in their daily lives to prevent chronic disease, advise for those who choose to drink alcohol, limiting alcohol to no more than one drink a day for women and two drinks per day for men and only for adults of legal drinking age. It is realized that when a person goes above and beyond that moderate drinking level, it can be harmful to health with an increased risk for high blood pressure, liver cirrhosis, and several forms of cancer.

News of this study sent waves of rumbles through the alcoholic beverage industry as they defended their right to sell a legal substance. It was pointed out that past scientific studies have supported moderate alcohol consumption as part of a healthy lifestyle, for those who choose to drink beverages with alcohol.  

When studies like this come out, it’s important to remember that not all alcohol is created equal.  For instance, most public health studies only look at total alcohol and do not consider that beer is a much lower alcoholic beverage as weighted by volume (ABV) compared to hard liquor such as gin, vodka, bourbon, or whiskey. The industry average of all beers consumed is about 4.7% ABV compared to hard alcohol at 38% ABV. These are significantly different products and are consumed very differently.  Beer tends to fill people up whereas hard liquor drinks are not as filling and are easier to overconsume.

Takeaway from this study

There are certainly groups of people who should not be drinking any alcohol whatsoever – anyone who cannot restrict their drinking to moderate levels; pregnant women; anyone taking medications that interact with alcohol; anyone with certain medical conditions such as liver disease, high blood lipids, or pancreatitis; and anyone who plans to drive, operate machinery or participate in anything that requires attention should not be drinking.

Another factor is that a person’s total overall lifestyle habits need to be taken into consideration – did the person also engage in illicit drug use, were they a smoker, were they sedentary, what were their eating habits like, and what kind of family health history did they have? In other words, there can be many additional factors besides just alcohol, contributing to the demise of a person. Clearly, overconsumption of alcohol, whether chronic or sporadic, is never encouraged.  But often, individuals who have a tendency to consume more than they should also are engaging in other poor lifestyle decisions that can be a contributor to their poor health.

Alcohol, for most people who choose to drink, can be enjoyed when it is consumed responsibly. However, everyone who does choose to drink alcohol needs to be aware of the ramifications of overconsumption not only to their health but also to others. When in social situations for example, start with a nonalcoholic drink first, then drink an alcohol beverage slowly, never guzzle it down. Never drink on an empty stomach; eating foods helps slow down the absorption of alcohol. Women should never try to keep up with a man when it comes to drinking an alcoholic beverage. The reason is alcohol resides predominately in body water – women naturally have a higher body fat content than men and therefore the alcohol in their body is more concentrated. This means if a woman and man of the same weight drink the same amount of alcohol, the woman’s blood alcohol concentration or the amount of alcohol in the blood will tend to be higher.  This is why most women feel the effects of alcohol much sooner than a man does.

All of us should strive to do our best to be our healthiest self.  This means eating healthy foods the majority of the time, engaging in regular physical activity, getting sufficient sleep, reducing stress and not smoking. When and if you decide to consume alcohol, always drink responsibly.  For anyone who struggles with overconsumption of alcohol, seek help.  Discuss with your doctor steps to take to deal with alcoholism.