A recent study commissioned by the Biden administration has sparked controversy over its findings on the relationship between alcohol consumption and mortality risk. The study, published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, concludes that alcohol has no protective effect on mortality at any level and that health risks begin at one drink a day.
However, a closer examination of the study's methodology and data reveals that the conclusions are not as straightforward as they appear. The study's authors acknowledge that the definition of lifetime abstention varies across the source studies, which undermines the correction for potential biases.
Despite the flaws in the study, the industry has targeted its methodology, not because of the flaws that show alcohol to be protective in low doses, but because of its headline recommendation. The scientific consensus is clear: ethanol is metabolised to acetaldehyde, a compound that forms chemical bonds with DNA, and alcohol impairs folate metabolism and elevates circulating oestrogen, both relevant to hormone-sensitive cancers.
The study's findings on low-dose mortality risk are uncertain, and the methodology is contested. Presenting both findings under the same headline, as though the uncertainty of one were as settled as the solidity of the other, ties the credible to the contested.
