New UK alcohol Guidlines

[martin knight]

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/489797/CMO_Alcohol_Report.pdf

 

The charts on page 17 summarize it. You'll note the familiar j shaped curve has been replaced by a simpler upward curve (a slight dip for women over 55).

 

From the text:

 

Previous analyses suggested the protective effect was only likely to be relevant to men from age 40 onwards and for post-menopausal women. The Sheffield report commissioned for the expert group included a UK analysis, which has found that the net protective effect that may be attributable to drinking regularly at low levels appears now to be significant only for women aged 55+ (with men aged over 55+ showing such a protective effect only of negligible size). 

 

 

[Dean Pomerleau]

Thanks Martin!

 

Here is the graph that Martin is referring to from pg. 17, showing mortality as a function of age and alcohol consumption frequency (once per week vs. daily). It shows that once a week alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of death, especially in younger men, and especially when more alcohol is consumed in that one drinking session (i.e. binge drinking). When they say a "unit" it is equivalent to one drink.

 

Daily drinking doesn't appear to be helpful for anyone wrt all-cause mortality, even just 1-2 drinks per day for men - which is sometimes suggested to be beneficial. However starting in mid-life (>35 yo), daily drinking doesn't appear to cause much of an increase in mortality risk, even when quite a bit of alcohol is consumed per day.

 

--Dean

 

 

This quick summary was helpful, showing which risks were increased and which were decreased with alcohol:

 

 

Heart disease and stroke risk was reduced, but cirrhosis of the liver and cardiac arrhythmias were increased, when men consumed the equivalent of 2 drinks per day, basically canceling out to be about net neutral in terms of overall risk of consuming 2 drinks per day.

 

--Daen

[Michael R]

You guys need to read the Y axis ;) . This is not the risk of total mortality: it is the risk of death from alcohol-related conditions, such as those listed in the green box.

 

The report is a very condensed summary, and I'll not pretend to have even begun to read it. At minimum, however, it's never really looked as if any level of total alcohol (which is what they're discussing) lowers total mortality: alcohol in general lowers CVD death, but usually has a null association withtotal mortality for the above reasons. It's only wine, at very low levels (< 1 5 oz glass/d) that consistently is reported to lower total mortality (and dementia risk).

 

From my brief brief brief glance thru' the Report, it's evident that they're saying that the specific, narrow, and above all competitive-risk benefit of lowish-level intake of total alcohol against CVD has been attenuated in recent years by the fact that we've made so much progress against CVD in recent years: smoking rates have been cut in half in males and have peaked in females at lower levels; SaFA consumption has been declining, tans-fat consumption has very recently declined dramatically; and use of statins and antihypertensive drugs has become the very widespread if still inadequate.

[Zeta]

From my brief brief brief glance thru' the Report, it's evident that they're saying that the specific, narrow, and above all competitive-risk benefit of lowish-level intake of total alcohol against CVD has been attenuated in recent years by the fact that we've made so much progress against CVD in recent years: smoking rates have been cut in half in males and have peaked in females at lower levels; SaFA consumption has been declining, tans-fat consumption has very recently declined dramatically; and use of statins and antihypertensive drugs has become the very widespread if still inadequate.

 

Indeed. And people on CR (who generally don't smoke, don't consume a lot of SFA, etc.) are even less likely to benefit from any amount of any ethanol.

[Michael R]

 

From my brief brief brief glance thru' the Report, it's evident that they're saying that the specific, narrow, and above all competitive-risk benefit of lowish-level intake of total alcohol against CVD has been attenuated in recent years by the fact that we've made so much progress against CVD in recent years: smoking rates have been cut in half in males and have peaked in females at lower levels; SaFA consumption has been declining, tans-fat consumption has very recently declined dramatically; and use of statins and antihypertensive drugs has become the very widespread if still inadequate.

 

Indeed. And people on CR (who generally don't smoke, don't consume a lot of SFA, etc.) are even less likely to benefit from any amount of any ethanol.

 

 

... though there is significant evidence, which I will even post some day ;) , that they will.