Debate on How Safer is Wine Than Other Alcoholic Beverages

Uncertainty overwhelms experts if wine consumers have lower risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality as compared to consumers of other beverages.

Wine consumers, especially in comparison with spirits drinkers, have been shown to have higher levels of education and income, to consume a healthier diet, be more physically active, and have other characteristics that are associated with better health outcomes.

However, epidemiologic studies have been inconsistent in showing that, after adjustment for all associated lifestyle factors, consumers of wine have lower risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality than do consumers of other beverages.

A study based on the long-term follow up of a group of older Americans concluded that the associated lifestyle habits and environmental factors of wine consumers largely explained their better health outcomes.

But forum reviewers were concerned about some of the methodological approaches used, and believed that the data presented in the paper were inadequate to support such a conclusion.

This was a small study, had only a single estimate of alcohol intake (at baseline but not throughout 20 years of follow up), and the authors may have over-adjusted for large differences in lifestyle factors between what they termed as "low-wine" and "high-wine" consumers.

The study did confirm a lower mortality risk for alcohol consumers than for non-drinkers.

Source: ANI