Study Links Moderate Drinking to Lower Mortality

A large new analysis finds that people who drink moderate levels of alcohol have a lower risk of dying from any cause than those who never drink. The new study findings contradict recent research that concluded that drinking has no health benefits at all and is linked to a higher risk for heart disease, cancer and other chronic conditions.   

The analysis, the first of two major reports on alcohol consumption, will be used to help formulate the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, according to STAT.

The new report released this week by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) refutes recent studies that say no amount of alcohol is safe. For example, experts told Medical  News Today that moderate alcohol consumption does not significantly extend lifespan and may pose health risks, including increased cancer, heart disease and neurodegenerative risks.

In early 2023, the World Health Organization declared that “when it comes to alcohol consumption, there is no safe amount that does not affect health.” Additionally, WHO statistics indicate that over half of the 3 million annual deaths linked to alcohol are due to non-communicable chronic diseases, including cancer.

But the latest evidence disputes previous studies. The 14-person NASEM committee analyzed recent research on the connection between alcohol consumption and eight specific health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, all-cause mortality, and certain types of cancer. For each of the eight health outcomes, the committee first determined whether there was sufficient evidence to support a systematic review for each health outcome, and then conducted an original systematic review for the outcomes with sufficient evidence.

 Dr. Ned Calonge, chair of the committee, noted in his introduction to the 230-page report that previous research into the health benefits of moderate drinking has often been biased. His committee combed through the prior studies using a scale of low to high uncertainty, based on the consistency of the evidence.

While heavy drinking has long been associated with negative effects on health, including increased risk of all-cause mortality, the association between moderate drinking and increased risk of death has been murky, said the committee. In fact, after analyzing the result of eight reliable studies, the researchers noted that people who consumed moderate levels of alcohol had a 16% lower risk of all-cause mortality than those who never drank.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, moderate alcohol intake is two drinks or less in a day for men and one drink or less in a day for women. The current report found that people who drink in moderation had lower risks of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular disease compared those who never drank. But the committee could find no hard evidence that moderate drinking has any effect on changes in weight or our waistlines.

In terms of cancer risk, the committee did find that moderate drinkers had a higher risk of breast cancer but not for other cancers such as colorectal, oral, pharyngeal or laryngeal cancer, as the association was less clear. The same conclusion was made about the increased risk of neurocognitive illnesses such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The committee said that the research was mixed on this topic.

The Department of Health and Human Services, potentially led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. starting in January, has the final say on whether the new information about the health effects of alcohol will influence the updated 2025 dietary guidelines.

“The evidence base from which to draw conclusions about alcohol and health is imperfect, and conducting the research has many challenges — such as a lack of standardization for terms like ‘non-drinker’ or ‘moderate drinker’ and the possibility that people are underreporting their own alcohol consumption,” said Calonge, according to the National Academies.  “Our report outlines what evidence is available on alcohol and health to inform the next Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and highlights research gaps that, if addressed, could strengthen the information available to us.”