United States: A large study published this week showed that, contrary to the teetotal message, the risks associated with moderate alcohol consumption are actually less likely to die of any cause or heart disease, but are also linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.
Federal Guidelines Under Review
Instead of ending the controversy on the safety of moderate ethanol consumption, the report’s findings only complicated the width of the controversy, as reported by NBC News.
The report made available on Tuesday was prepared under the request of Congress and by a group of experts from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Sandwiches A revision of the federal guidelines next year may result in changes to recommended amounts of alcohol consumption.
The current guidelines contain information on what a person should avoid – alcoholic beverages and it tells a person that if they insist on taking drinks then it is recommended that they take a maximum of two drinks per day if a male or one if a female.
Role in Cancer Risk
However, the past few years have brought statistics that raised doubt on the health promotion aspect of drinking. The WHO decided in 2022 that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption. A huge study published this year showed that severe alcohol consumption is connected with six types of cancer – those located in the head and neck area, the esophagus, liver, and stomach.
Exclusively for the report, the committee analyzed studies published after December 2010 to consider the effects of moderate drinking on several different outcomes such as death from any cause, death from heart disease, breast cancer, death due to colorectal cancer, death due to head and neck cancer, weight changes or Alzheimer’s disease.
However, moderate drinking was connected to an increased risk for breast or colon cancer. https://t.co/4l2B77EGYc
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) December 20, 2024
“We looked at that body of literature and were able to make three conclusions with what we call moderate certainty, and what that means is that we feel comfortable in making these conclusions based on the evidence we had available,” said Dr. Ned Calonge, chair of the NASEM committee.
Nevertheless, Calonge and his team chose not to connect it to moderate drinking and colorectal cancer because there is insufficient evidence to make that claim, though the committee noted this could change as more studies are done on the matter.
Experts Disagree on Health Recommendations
Dr. Michael Siegel, a professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University, said the focus of the new report should be cancer.
“Essentially, what this means is that alcohol is clearly a carcinogen,” Siegel said. “There isn’t a level of moderate or light drinking that can be recommended to people because at that level it will increase their cancer risk.”
A major report released Tuesday found that compared to abstaining from alcohol, moderate drinking was linked to a lower risk of death from any cause and a lower risk of death from heart disease, but was also linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. https://t.co/oKSjXdsl4x
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 20, 2024
Duke University medical professor Dr. Michael Pignone stated that while he hasn’t seen enough data to recommend that individuals quit drinking, he has advised them not to start.
“I am skeptical that low levels of alcohol consumption reduce mortality or cardiovascular mortality,” Pignone said. “I would not recommend someone start drinking for health benefits.”
Future Reports and Guidelines
A second report to be released in the next few weeks by a group of experts from the Department of Health and Human Services shall also be used to determine the content of the 2025 guidelines, as reported by NBC News.
“I think this report sort of covers all the areas that we do not know,” said Dr. Nicholas Lim, a hepatologist and associate professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School; he indicated that such a report will help different researchers to enhance their efforts in generating sufficient knowledge on alcohol and health.