just-drinks authors and correspondents

Columns by International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research

Critiques from the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research

The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research hosts forums that look at research conducted around the world on the relationship between alcohol consumption and health.

Articles by International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research

Can consuming alcohol reduce risk of chronic kidney disease? - International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 225 8 April 2019

While many studies have found that moderate consumers of alcohol tend to be at a lower risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD), potential mechanisms for such an effect are unclear. A recent large prospective, population-based, multi-cultural study provides important additional data on the effects of alcohol intake on the initial diagnosis of CKD over many years.

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Could consuming alcohol help with diabetes? - International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 224 12 March 2019

Diabetes mellitus is an increasingly-common condition throughout the world, related closely to increases in obesity and ageing of populations. Scientific data from well-conducted cohort studies have demonstrated for decades that moderate consumers of alcohol tend to have a considerably lower risk of developing diabetes in the first place. Meanwhile, diabetics who consume moderate amounts of alcohol are, in comparison with abstainers, shown to be at much lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

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Does alcohol consumption accelerate the chances of developing coronary heart disease? - International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 222 21 December 2018

In an attempt to judge the effects of alcohol on the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), a recent report carried out analyses using a sample of subjects from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol & Related Conditions III (NESARC-III). The authors based their exposure to current alcohol use on a single assessment at baseline of self-reported consumption during the past year, when the subjects were an average of 38.9 years of age.

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Which alcohol category is better for avoiding stomach cancer? - International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 221 20 November 2018

There have been conflicting results from studies of the association between alcohol intake and the risk of gastric cancer. Some of the differences among studies have related to mixing subjects from Western countries with those from Asia, where dietary patterns, lifestyle factors, drinking patterns and types of alcohol consumed differ from those among Western populations.

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Why there's more to dying than just drinking - International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 220 16 October 2018

For reasons unclear, the authors of a recent study into alcohol consumption and mortality combined results from two, very different studies; one from the Veterans’ Health Administration, based on outpatient clinical medical records, and the other from a national survey in the US [The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)]. Unfortunately, the VA data did not adjust for tobacco use or other important lifestyle habits, and is not useful in judging the effects of alcohol consumption on mortality.

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Can alcohol consumption guidelines be drawn up on a global basis? - International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 219 4 September 2018

Investigators working with data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries & Risk Factors Study 2016 have combined data from 195 locations around the world, from 1990 to 2016, for both sexes and for five-year age groups between the ages of 15 years and 95 years and older.

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How will your alcohol intake affect the likelihood of dementia in later life? - International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 218 22 August 2018

While there is general agreement that the moderate intake of alcohol is associated with a significantly-lower risk of cardiovascular disease, there is less data on the relation of moderate alcohol consumption to dementia. However, the vast majority of well-done prospective studies indicate that, in comparison with non-drinkers, moderate, non-binge-drinking older adults have lower risk of Alzheimer Disease and other types of dementia.

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The more you drink, the greater your risk of cancer - International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 217 11 July 2018

Scientific studies have shown consistently that the consumption of small amounts of alcohol on a regular basis is associated with a lower risk of total mortality, while consumption of large amounts is associated with an increased risk of certain cancers and mortality.

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How best to fight the 'diseases of ageing' - International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 216 10 July 2018

It has long been known that a number of lifestyle factors – such as not smoking, being physically active, avoiding obesity – decrease the risk of many of the 'diseases of ageing', especially cardiovascular disease and cancer.

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Female? Smoker? What you should know about alcohol consumption - International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 215 14 May 2018

While essentially all epidemiologic studies have shown adverse health effects of cigarette smoking and beneficial effects of moderate alcohol consumption, a recent study in this area that followed a cohort of elderly women into very old age proved interesting reading.