Light drinking isn’t really a good thing – study

MANILA, Philippines – Does light drinking – you know, that occasional glass of wine or bottle of beer – do good things for your health? Not so much, according to a study published Tuesday, February 10.

The study, published in The British Medical Journal, said that the suggested positive effects of light drinking on cardiovascular health could be “exaggerated” due to biases in the subject selection in earlier studies.

The study, conducted by UK and Australian researchers led by Craig Knott of the University College London, first looked at the relationship between alcohol consumption and mortality in different age groups.

They used data from the Health Survey for England 1998-2008, where the participants were asked about their alcohol consumption. The results were then adjusted for various personal, socioeconomic, and lifestyle factors, the researchers said.

It turned out that positive effects of light alcohol drinking, compared to no consumption at all, were only seen in women aged 65 and over. The rest of the age groups? “Little” to none, the authors said.

“The findings from this study suggest that beneficial associations typically identified between low intensity alcohol consumption and all cause mortality may, in part, be attributable to an inappropriate selection of a referent group and weak adjustment for confounders,” the study said

“Attention should be drawn to the effect of selection biases when interpreting results from alcohol health studies, particularly where older populations are sampled and where those exhibiting ill health are excluded at baseline,” they said.

So, the earlier studies that showed the positive effects of light drinking may “simply represent a lifestyle exposure specific to healthier people,” not the general population.

In an editorial in the same issue of The BMJ, Professor Mike Daube of Australia’s Curtin University said the study is another proof that alcohol intake isn’t really a good thing.

Daube said that the alcohol industry latched on the studies showing positive effects of alcohol to help advance their businesses.

“[Health] professionals should discourage suggestions that even low level alcohol use protects against cardiovascular disease and brings mortality benefits,” he wrote. “Health advice should come from health authorities, not from the alcohol industry.” – Rappler.com