New scientific study: No safe level of alcohol!
Published on Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (http://www.healthdata.org) August 23, 2018.
3 million deaths in 2016 attributed to alcohol; ‘Massive health risks’
The study, published today in the international medical journal The Lancet shows that in 2016, nearly 3 million deaths globally were attributed to alcohol use, including 12 percent of deaths in males between the ages of 15 and 49.
“The health risks associated with alcohol are massive,” said Dr. Emmanuela Gakidou of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington and the senior author of the study. “Our findings are consistent with other recent research, which found clear and convincing correlations between drinking and premature death, cancer, and cardiovascular problems. Zero alcohol consumption minimizes the overall risk of health loss.”
It provides findings on prevalence of current drinking, prevalence of abstention, alcohol consumption among current drinkers, and deaths and overall poor health attributable to alcohol for 23 health outcomes, such as communicable and non-communicable diseases and injuries, including:
- Cardiovascular diseases: atrial fibrillation and flutter, hemorrhagic stroke, ischemic stroke, hypertensive heart disease, ischemic heart disease, and alcoholic cardiomyopathy;
- Cancers: breast, colorectal, liver, esophageal, larynx, lip and oral cavity, and nasal;
- Other non-communicable diseases: cirrhosis of the liver due to alcohol use, diabetes, epilepsy, pancreatitis, and alcohol use disorders;
- Communicable diseases: lower respiratory infections and tuberculosis;
- Intentional injuries: interpersonal violence and self-harm;
- Unintentional injuries: exposure to mechanical forces; poisonings; fire, heat, and hot substances; drowning; and other unintentional injuries; and
- Transportation-related injuries.