The conclusion comes from the authors of the Global Burden of Diseases study, an ongoing project based at the University of Washington in Seattle that produces the most comprehensive data on the world’s causes of disease and death. Four years ago, the study said even occasional drinking was harmful to health and suggested governments should advise people to abstain completely. But after a major new analysis of global data, the experts behind the study came to new conclusions. Young people face higher health risks from drinking alcohol than older people, they say. But they add that adults age 40 and older without underlying conditions may benefit from limited alcohol consumption, such as one small glass of red wine a day, including reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes. Their findings, published in the Lancet, are the first to report alcohol risk by geographic region, age, gender and year. They suggest that global drinking recommendations should be based on age and location, with the strictest guidelines for men aged 15-39, who are at greatest risk of harmful drinking worldwide. “Our message is simple: young people should not drink, but older people may benefit from drinking small amounts,” said lead author Dr. Emmanuela Gakidou, professor of metric health sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine. “While it may be unrealistic to believe that young adults will abstain from drinking, we believe it is important to share the latest evidence so that everyone can make informed decisions about their health.” Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST A total of 1.34 billion people are estimated to have consumed harmful amounts of alcohol in 2020, according to the analysis of consumption patterns in 204 countries. The study, published in the Lancet, found that 59% of those who drank harmful amounts were aged 15-39 – people for whom alcohol provided no health benefits and carried risks, including alcohol-related injuries or traffic accidents, suicides or murders. Three-quarters of the harmful drinkers were men. The researchers looked at the risk of alcohol consumption on 22 health outcomes, including injuries, cardiovascular disease and cancers, using data from the 2020 Global Burden of Disease. Using this information, the researchers were able to estimate how much alcohol a person could drink before taking too much risk to their health compared to someone who did not drink alcohol. They found that the level of alcohol that could be consumed without increasing health risks increased over the lifespan. The researchers considered a typical drink as a 100ml glass of 13% alcohol red wine or a 375ml can or bottle of 3.5% beer. They found that for men aged 15-39, the recommended amount of alcohol before “dangerous health loss” was just 0.136 of a standard drink per day. For women of the same age, the “theoretical minimum level of risk exposure” was 0.273 drinks – about a quarter of a standard drink per day. For adults aged 40 and older without underlying health problems, drinking a small amount of alcohol was associated with some health benefits, including a reduced risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Among people aged 40-64, safe drinking levels ranged from about half a standard drink a day to nearly two standard drinks. For people aged 65 and over, the risk of “health loss from alcohol consumption” was reached after drinking just over three standard drinks a day. But on average, the recommended alcohol intake for adults over 40 remained low, peaking at 1.87 standard drinks per day. After that, health risks increased with each drink, the Lancet reported. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Separate research published in the journal PLOS Medicine on Thursday found that drinking seven or more units of alcohol per week was associated with higher levels of iron in the brain. Iron in the brain has been linked to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease and is a possible mechanism for alcohol-related cognitive decline. Dr Richard Piper, chief executive of Alcohol Change UK, said: “The emerging science on alcohol, across hundreds of studies over the past 20 years, tells us very clearly that alcohol is very damaging to the human body in many ways. We were previously ignorant of this, and too many of us continue to drink as if this revolution had not happened to our knowledge. “If you care about your health, the best approach is not to drink at all. If you choose to drink alcohol, listen to the UK’s chief medical officer and don’t exceed 14 units a week (about six bottles of lager or a bottle and a half of wine), have at least three alcohol-free days a week and never exceed more than six units in one day.”
