Health risks and benefits of alcohol consumption

Abstract

Alcohol consumption has consequences for the health and well-being of those who drink and, by extension, the lives of those around them. The research reviewed here represents a wide spectrum of approaches to understanding the risks and benefits of alcohol consumption. These research findings can help shape the efforts of communities to reduce the negative consequences of alcohol consumption, assist health practitioners in advising consumers, and help individuals make informed decisions about drinking.

Rates of death from all causes, all cardiovascular diseases, and alcohol-augmented conditions from 1982 to 1991, according to base-line alcohol consumption. SOURCE: Thun et al. 1997. Reprinted with permission from New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 337, pp. 1705–1714, 1997. Copyright 1997, Massachusetts Medical Society. Waltham, MA. All rights reserved.