MODERATE DRINKING AND HEALTH - IMPLICATIONS OF RECENT-EVIDENCE

OBJECTIVE To address three questions (Is moderate drinking good for he alth? Should people drink to prevent heart disease? What is moderate d rinking?) and to examine and compare two recent Canadian guidelines on low-risk drinking in the context of counseling patients. DATA SOURCES English-language data sources were searched, particularly peer-review ed health and social science literature and recent expert reports. STU DY SELECTION Studies and reports were selected for their scientific me rit and direct relevance to the three questions addressed and to the f ormulation of guidelines on low-risk drinking. SYNTHESIS While moderat e drinking might protect some older people against coronary heart dise ase, it is associated with increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke, certa in cancers, accidents and injuries, and a range of social problems. Fo r most health outcomes, risk increases as consumption of alcohol incre ases. CONCLUSIONS While the data have limitations, they provide a basi s for formulating guidelines on low-risk drinking. The two Canadian gu idelines, one developed from the perspective of health recovery, the o ther from the perspective of health promotion, complement each other i n the context of counseling patients.