Alcohol-a universal preventive agent? A critical analysis

作者：Fekjaer Hans Olav^*

来源：Addiction, 2013, 108(12): 2051-2057.

DOI：10.1111/add.12104

• Alcohol
• causallity
• confounders
• diseases
• prevention

BackgroundIn observational studies, moderate drinking is associated with a reduced risk of more than twenty different diseases and health problems. However, it would be premature to conclude that there is a causal relationship.
MethodThis paper critically reviews the evidence for such associations.
FindingsIt was found that reasons for questioning the causal association of moderate drinking and a reduced health risk are: the lack of dose-response relationships; the characteristics and lifestyles of today's abstainers and moderate drinkers; the lack of plausible biological mechanisms; the problems in the classification of drinking groups, and; the general limitations of observational studies.
ConclusionsThe evidence for the harmful effects of alcohol is undoubtedly stronger than the evidence for beneficial effects.

• 出版日期2013-12