Understanding Alcohol Drinking Patterns National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism NIAAA

The investigators reported in the journal BMC Medicine that people who drank from 2 to 7 glasses of wine per week were much less likely to be diagnosed with clinical depression. https://www.bernd-fassbender-stiftung.de/2022/04/08/genetics-and-alcoholism-whats-the-connection/ One standard drink in the U.S. contains around 14 grams of pure alcohol. According to the Office of Alcohol and Drug Education at the University of Notre Dame, IN, a woman’s body absorbs 30 percent more alcohol than a man’s after drinking the same amount. Studies have shown that females begin having alcohol-related problems at lower levels of alcohol consumption than males. Loose use of the terms “moderate” and “a drink” has fueled some of the ongoing debate about alcohol’s impact on health.

Benefits

• Calonge and his team stopped short of linking moderate drinking to colorectal cancer, saying there is insufficient evidence to make a firm conclusion, though that could change in the future with more research.
• Drinking even moderate amounts of alcohol may raise your risk for certain health problems.
• The agency considers a single drink to be a 12-ounce beer, a 6-ounce glass of wine, 8 ounces of malt liquor, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor, the equivalent of a shot.
• But what’s less clear is the effect that drinking in moderation, specifically, has on cancer risk.
• When Stockwell and his fellow researchers threw out the observational studies that were beyond salvation and adjusted the rest to account for some of the confounders I listed above, “the J curve disappeared,” he told me.

The perspective of epidemiological sociology is the synthesis of several epidemiological approaches to the study of alcohol use and abuse and their consequences. Here, use and consequences are studied independently rather than as one psychiatric condition. Systematic epidemiological sociological surveys of the general U.S. population began in the 1960s.

Before World War II, both disciplines relied on key community informants, medical data experts, and agency records for information that defined alcohol-related trends in the population. Following World War II, a second generation of studies evolved that used written measurement instruments, psychiatrists’ evaluations of client profiles, and interviews. Calonge and his team stopped short of linking moderate drinking to colorectal cancer, saying there is insufficient evidence to make a firm conclusion, though that could change in the future with more research. Alcohol use disorder, which has strongly been linked to poor health, can also start from a moderate drinking habit, he added. If drinking causes problems in your life, you may have alcohol use disorder (sometimes called alcoholism).

Other beverages with higher alcohol content than the corresponding “regular” beverages, such as premium brand liquors, fortified wines, malt liquors, and locally produced beers and ales (i.e., microbrews), also have become more popular. Thus, a person drinking such a bottle may still report having had just one drink, although the amount consumed is approximately equivalent to the beer in three regular 12 oz bottles. These examples illustrate the difficulties encountered in determining and comparing actual alcohol consumption and the contents of various types of beverages for establishing a standard definition of a drink.

Why Is There Mixed Messaging About Alcohol’s Effects on Health?

In a four-part series published in 2024, The Denver Post examined why so many Coloradans are dying, and ways to save drug addiction treatment lives that the state hasn’t pursued. Heavy drinking can also cause problems well beyond the health of the drinker — it can damage important relationships. It’s all too common that problem drinking disrupts bonds with a spouse, family members, friends, coworkers, or employers.

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Thankfully, there are many ways to cut down on your drinking to a more modest place. Here are some practical strategies, tips, and reminders to help you drink more mindfully and moderately. A second report conducted by a group within the Department of Health and Human Services to be published in the coming weeks will also help inform the 2025 guidelines. If acetaldehyde builds up in the body, it damages DNA and prevents cells from reproducing or repairing themselves. This information on drinking in moderation was adapted from materials from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Alcohol use can be a sensitive subject to talk about, but it’s important.

Surgeon General issued a new advisory, stating that alcohol is the “third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity, increasing risk for at least seven types of cancer.” Alcohol’s inflammatory effects are particularly pronounced in the gut, negatively impacting the intestinal lining and the balance of microorganisms making up the gut microbiome. The impacts of alcohol on gut health alone are significant because of its ripple effect—the microbiome is closely linked to brain health, immune health, gastrointestinal health, and much more. Personally, I find great comfort in it—even as I suspect it suffers from the same flaws that plague this entire field. Several months ago, I spoke with the Stanford University scientist Euan Ashley, who studies the cellular effects of exercise. He has concluded that every minute of exercise adds five extra minutes of life.

• That’s why we asked experts to unpack what effect, if any, your happy hour habit might have on your disease risk.
• Public health experts told me that they want to be more vocal about some of alcohol’s risks, especially about it being something that builds a dependency.
• In a four-part series published in 2024, The Denver Post examined why so many Coloradans are dying, and ways to save lives that the state hasn’t pursued.
• Former drinkers were persons who had consumed at least 12 drinks in a 12-month period sometime in their lives, but not during the 12 months immediately preceding the interview.

In the past, moderate drinking was thought to be linked with a lower risk of dying from heart disease and possibly diabetes. After more analysis of the research, that doesn’t seem to be the case. In general, a healthy diet and physical activity have much greater health benefits than alcohol and have been more extensively studied. Alcohol misuse—which includes binge drinking and heavy alcohol use—over time increases the risk of alcohol use disorder (AUD). The benefits and risks of moderate drinking change over a lifetime. In general, risks exceed benefits until middle age, when cardiovascular disease begins to account for an increasingly large share of the burden of disease and death.

You might think having a few drinks regularly is harmless, but even consuming alcohol in moderation carries some risks. You might wonder if there’s a healthy way to drink, how much alcohol consumption is considered moderate, and how much is too much. “The healthiest pattern is to have only one or two drinks at one time, and spread it out so you don’t drink on multiple days per week,” says Rimm. Also, weigh your alcohol intake with your overall health, he adds. “If you have any health issues, it’s best to speak with your doctor about what is the proper amount of alcohol for you.” There’s a trope among doctors that most people think they’re moderate drinkers but aren’t thinking about those numbers as they drink.

• It affects levels of lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides) and insulin in the blood, as well as inflammation and coagulation.
• For other purposes, such as establishing threshold levels or risk levels for alcohol-related health consequences, however, such an approach may not be sufficient.
• Although the procedure is widely employed in research on the efficacy of alcoholism treatment, the required interviews are highly individualized and, hence, generally impractical for use in large-scale population-based surveys.
• Results from these two surveys may report different numbers of abstainers, not because of true differences in drinking practices but because of definitional differences.
• Generally, these healthier options will be low in (or free of) added sugars.

After my reporting, I do think there is some can you moderate your drinking room for debate about whether a very modest amount of alcohol consumed in a very particular way might confer some small cardiovascular benefit. Try these suggestions to keep drinking in check or choose any other method that works for you. More information about alcohol and cancer risk is available in the Surgeon General’s advisory. If drinking less or less often than you typically do is something you’re committed to, pull out a pen and paper and write down some concrete goals for yourself. This provides you with the opportunity to create a plan that feels good to you and increases your accountability to those goals. If your friend group, family, or work colleagues frequently enjoys happy hours, nights out, and other alcohol-centered activities, it can be a struggle to try and cut down.

The rapid progress in computer technology, however, has led to the development and use of computer-assisted telephone interview systems. Because they are considerably less costly than face-to-face interviews, telephone surveys are rapidly gaining popularity among survey researchers. Scientists are divided as to whether the assessment mode influences reported alcohol consumption.

Ways to stay healthy

Try using these tips to talk with someone about cutting back or quitting drinking. If you don’t have insurance, you may still be able to get free or low-cost help for alcohol misuse. Find a health center near you and ask about alcohol misuse screening and counseling. Talk with a doctor or nurse if you’re having a hard time cutting back on your drinking. If you keep a lot of alcohol around, you may be tempted to go over the drinking limit you set for yourself when you’re at home. If you have a bad day or are feeling angry, don’t reach for a drink.