Wine Glass

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Adults like wine– they like to have wine with dinner, but many adults also think of their health. Now a new study calls into question whether moderate drinking is as healthy as originally thought…

Scientists from the University of Victoria’s Center for Addictions Research in British Columbia rounded up and analyzed 87 previous studies on alcohol and death from all causes. They found that in most studies “abstainer bias” was present. In other words, when researchers compared moderate drinkers with non-drinkers, the non-drinking group often included people who didn’t consume alcohol due to other health issues. That bias may have made moderate drinkers, who consumed anywhere from one drink per week to one or two drinks a day, seem healthier by comparison. When the scientists corrected for the “abstainer bias,” the moderate alcohol drinkers no longer showed a longevity advantage. Study leader Tim Stockwell says, “We saw a change from this famous J-shape curve suggesting moderate drinking is good for health to the J-shape curve vanishing. So abstainers and low-volume, occasional drinkers were all pretty similar in terms of risk from dying of any causes.”