Alcohol consumption has no beneficial effect on the health of people under 40 years of age.
- In 2020, 1.34 billion people consumed harmful amounts of alcohol.
- Of the adults who drank dangerous amounts of alcohol, 59.1% were between the ages of 15 and 39 and 76.7% were men.
- 60% of alcohol-related injuries occur in people under the age of 40.
“The health risks associated with moderate alcohol consumption continue to be debated. Small amounts of alcohol may reduce the risk of some health effects but increase the risk of other effects, which suggests that overall risk depends, in part, on background disease rates, which vary by region, age, sex, and years,” wrote an international group of researchers in a study published in the journal The Lancet.
A risk of “loss of health”
As part of this research, scientists examined the risk of alcohol consumption on 22 health problems, including injury, cardiovascular disease and cancer. For this, they used data from 2020 on the global burden of disease for men and women aged 15 to 95 and over between 1990 and 2020, in 204 countries and territories. From this information, the authors were able to estimate the average daily alcohol consumption that minimizes the risk of health problems for a population.
According to the results, alcohol consumption has no benefit for young adults aged 15 to 39. On the contrary, drinking alcohol before the age of 40 presents higher health risks. For this age group, consumption is associated with injuries, road accidents, suicides and homicides. According to the team, for men in their early forties, the recommended amount of alcohol before “risk losing health” was only 0.136 drinks per day. This amount was slightly higher for women aged 15-39, at 0.273 drinks.
Small profits after 40 years
For adults over 40, the health risks associated with alcohol consumption vary by age and region. But according to research, people over their 40s may derive some benefit from a small amount of alcoholic beverages. Drinking small amounts of alcohol, one or two drinks a day, can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes in adults in this age group.
“Our message is clear: young people should not drink alcohol, but older people can enjoy the benefits of a small consumption of alcoholic beverages. While it is unrealistic to think that young adults will abstain from drinking, we believe it is important to communicate the latest evidence so that everyone can make informed decisions about their health.” said Emmanuela Gakidou, lead author of the study, in a statement.
The researchers suggest that global recommendations for alcohol consumption should be issued according to age and region. According to them, the strictest guidelines should be aimed at men aged 15 to 39, who are at the greatest risk of harmful alcohol consumption in the world.
