Drinking more than three times a week can harm your health

A decades-old council on alcohol has recently been the subject of criticism. Two recent studies suggest that even moderate consumption of alcohol may increase the risk of premature death.

The latest study, published Wednesday in the newspaper Alcoholism: clinical and experimental research, finds that drinking lightly at least four times a week may increase the risk of premature death, even if that amount is in accordance with federal guidelines. (The researchers defined "light" consumption as a drink or two per session.The CDC and other federal agencies recommend moderate drinking – no more than one drink a day for women or two a day for men – for those who drink.) Drinkers who drank four or more times a week had a risk of death about 20% higher during the study period than those who drank three or fewer times per week, according to the study.

"The cut seems to be that we should not drink more than three times a week," says Dr. Sarah Hartz, co-author of the study, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis . "The frequency of alcohol consumption is important, just like taking a drug. If you take a medicine once a week, it will have an impact different from the one you take each day. "

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The Hartz document follows a large alcohol research study published in The lancet in August. The conclusion of this article is even more dramatic: its authors wrote that the safest level of alcohol consumption was zero, citing increased risks of health problems ranging from car accidents to cancer.

Why this sudden change in the recommendations of the experts? Hartz says that change "has been on the horizon for a while now. There is an accumulation of evidence that is starting to bring people to this belief. It's a bit against the recommendation of "glass of red wine a day".

For the study, Hartz and his colleagues drew on data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), as well as patient medical records from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The NHIS sample was representative of the total US population, while the HAV group was older and predominantly male. Together, the datasets provided researchers with observational information on health, diet, alcohol consumption and mortality among nearly 435,000 people aged 18 to 85 years. Their health and survival have been monitored on average for seven to ten years.

In the NHIS sample, which included more than 340,000 adults, about 40% of those surveyed said they did not drink alcohol or drink alcohol, but stopped. Approximately 86% of those who reported drinking at present said they consumed only one drink or two per session, regardless of how often they drink.

The researchers chose to focus on this level of consumption because, unlike excessive alcohol consumption, it is generally thought that it is safe and potentially even beneficial, especially for heart health. But, as the results of the study suggest, this may not be the case beyond a certain threshold.

In the NHIS group, drinking one or two glasses about three times a week was associated with the lowest overall mortality risk, even compared to those who drank less than that. But beyond that, the researchers found that each additional consumption of alcohol was associated with a higher risk of death. Similar trends have been observed in the HAV group.

Individual risks associated with consumption vary. For example, the study showed that light consumption was beneficial for heart health, but that alcohol consumption was associated with a higher cancer risk, both of which were consistent with past consumption research. Based on this cost-benefit analysis, a physician would likely make different recommendations for a patient with a family history of heart disease versus cancer.

According to Hartz, when it comes to making recommendations at the population level, the data suggests that even light consumption can be risky. This does not necessarily mean that you have to abstain to stay healthy, but that you may want to rephrase your thinking about alcohol, she says.

"I drink in a recreational way, and my main strength is that I can not see healthy behavior," says Hartz. "It's not like smoking, where you have to stop immediately. It's bad for you, but we do a lot of things that are bad for us. Do not just think it's healthy behavior. "