Abstract
Epidemiological and experimental studies have consistently linked alcoholic beverage consumption with the development of several chronic disorders, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus and obesity. The impact of drinking is usually dose-dependent, and light to moderate drinking tends to lower risks of certain diseases, while heavy drinking tends to increase the risks. Besides, other factors such as drinking frequency, genetic susceptibility, smoking, diet, and hormone status can modify the association. The amount of ethanol in alcoholic beverages is the determining factor in most cases, and beverage types could also make an influence. This review summarizes recent studies on alcoholic beverage consumption and several chronic diseases, trying to assess the effects of different drinking patterns, beverage types, interaction with other risk factors, and provide mechanistic explanations.
Highlights
The term alcoholic beverage refers to drinks such as beer, wine or spirits containing alcohol
Subgroup analysis indicated the protective effect was related to red wine, but heavy drinkers had significantly increased risks when it came to colorectal cancer
According to the prospective NHLBI Twin Study, higher usual alcohol consumption was correlated with lower mortality from coronary artery disease, independent of genetic and early life environmental factors, and the protection was similar across alcoholic beverage types
Summary
The term alcoholic beverage refers to drinks such as beer, wine or spirits (liquor) containing alcohol. Studies providing information about association between drinking and selected diseases; or mechanic explanation for the association were included for review. Compared with another recent review of this topic [7], this paper includes obesity, which was absent from the review written by Shield et al. Compared with another recent review of this topic [7], this paper includes obesity, which was absent from the review written by Shield et al It goes into more depth on certain issues, such as cancer, beverage type, interactions with other risk factors, and the effect of drinking on disease progression [7,11]
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