There is no safe dose of alcohol for health

Any amount, even an occasional pint of beer, carries the risk of serious health complications and premature death. Giving up alcohol completely is the only way to avoid the health risks associated with it, according to a new study.

Research published in a medical journal „The Lancet” show that any amount of alcohol consumed can have serious consequences. In 2016, nearly 3 million waspsób worldwide died from alcohol abuse. While previous studies have shown that alcohol consumed in moderate amounts can protect against cardiovascular disease and have other beneficial health effects, a new study has found that any benefits are rów equivalent by cost.

– The health risks associated with alcohol consumption are enormous – said Emmanuela Gakidou of the University of Washington, head of theówna author of the study. – Our results are in line with other new studies, whichóre showed clear and convincing correlations between drinking and premature death, cancer and cardiovascular problems. Abstinence minimizes health risks – she added.

In this study, there is no rótion between beer, wine and stronger alcohol. The standard napój alcohol was defined in the study as 10 grams of pure alcohol (100 ml of red wine, a bottle of beer or a glass of wódka or other beveragesóin spirits) consumed per person per day.

The researchers based their conclusions on data on the effects of theóin the health of alcohol consumption and deathów associated with it. Patterns of alcohol consumption róvary considerably by country and gender, average per capita consumption and the associated burden of disease. Globally, more than 2 billion peopleób, are people who drink. 63 percent. Of this number are men.

The study, part of the annual Global Burden of Disease report, assesses the effects of theóin health related to alcohol consumption between 1990 and 2016 for 195 countriesów of the world. The study also provides data on prevalence of alcohol use, abstinence, deathsów i ogólionally ill health caused by drinking alcohol.

– With the largest database collected to date, our study makes the link between health and alcohol even clearer – drinking causes significant health loss, in billions of waysóin, worldwide – said Max Griswold, coóroutor of research.

Researchers estimate that one drink a day increases the risk of diseaseób, including cancer, diabetes and tuberculosis by 0.5 percent. Two drinks a day increases the risk to 7 percent, while five raises the rate to as much as 37 percent.

– Policy changes are urgently needed to encourage people to reduce their alcohol consumption or abstain from it altogether. That one or two drinks a day are good for you is a myth, and this study nullifies it – emphasized Gakidou.

In the top 10 countryóin with the highest rates of alcohol-related mortality were as many as five countries from Eastern Europe: Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus and Latvia. At the top of this list is Lesotho. Amongód countryów with the lowest mortality rates are Arab countries led by Kuwait.

The study used 694 sourcesód data on alcohol consumption at the individual and population levels, as well as 592 prospective and retrospective studies on the risk of alcohol consumption. However, the authors point out that their study does not take into account all aspects of theóin drinking alcohol. Data were not available for alcohol-related violence and accidentsóon the road after consuming alcohol. More than 500 scientists were involved in the studyóin 40 countriesóin the world.