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

International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 157: A Mistaken Interpretation of Data Relating Alcohol to Mortality 20 February 2015

The authors of a recent paper on alcohol and mortality, and the case for age-specific alcohol consumption guidelines published in the BMJ, have carried out a regression analysis to examine the association of reported alcohol consumption with all-cause mortality, dividing their sample into different age groups.

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International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 156: The Pattern of Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Cirrhosis 10 February 2015

A recent paper, from a group of experienced investigators in Denmark using data from a large population-based cohort, attempted to judge how drinking pattern affects the risk of a subject developing alcoholic cirrhosis.

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International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 155: The Effects of Alcohol Consumption on the Risk of Developing Heart Failure 3 February 2015

An analysis of data from 'Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC)' evaluated the effects of alcohol consumption at baseline, and the cumulative average intake based on several later assessments during a 24-year follow-up period, on the risk of the development of heart failure (HF).

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International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 154: Effects of Alcohol Consumption Changes on Dementia Risk among Elderly Women 12 January 2015

A number of prospective studies have shown that moderate drinkers are at lower risk of developing dementia or cognitive impairment than abstainers or heavy drinkers.

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International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 153: Moderate Alcohol Intake may Lower the Risk of Developing Diabetes among Obese Subjects 11 December 2014

A recent case-control study compared the risk of having a high level of haemoglobin A1c, a measure of hyperglycemia, and of the waist/height ratio, a measure of obesity, according to reported alcohol consumption.

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International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 152: Specific Genetic Factors Modify the Reduction in Heart Disease Risk from Alcohol Consumption 27 November 2014

It has long been known that genetic and other environmental factors modify the association between alcohol consumption and a variety of diseases, especially coronary heart disease (CHD).

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International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 151: Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Results from Multiple Maternal Factors during Pregnancy 21 November 2014

Excessive maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy (especially among women with alcohol dependency) is known to markedly increase the risk of the foetus showing a group of developmental disorders defined as foetal alcohol spectrum syndrome (FASD), with the most serious form being foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).

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International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 150: The Relation of Alcohol Consumption to the Risk of Ischemic Heart Disease 17 November 2014

A recent meta-analysis was produced by authors who, in the past, have tended to argue that the demonstrated inverse association between moderate alcohol consumption and ischemic heart disease (IHD) shown in most studies is due to confounding by other lifestyle factors.

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International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 148: Alcohol and Liver Cancer 24 September 2014

Hepatic cirrhosis frequently precedes the development of liver cancer, and excessive alcohol consumption is known to be one cause of cirrhosis.

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International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research Critique 147: Association of Alcohol Intake with Different Types of Breast Cancer 11 September 2014

The study concerned is based on a large number of women participating in a clinical trial (enhanced screening for certain cancers versus routine care) focusing on prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian cancer.