Relation between Average Alcohol Consumption and Disease: An Overview

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Abstract
Objective: To conduct an overview of alcohol-related health consequences and to estimate relative risk for chronic consequences and attributable fractions for acute consequences. Methods: Identification of alcohol-related consequences was performed by means of reviewing and evaluating large-scale epidemiological studies and reviews on alcohol and health, including epidemiological contributions to major social cost studies. Relative risks and alcohol-attributable fractions were drawn from the international literature and risk estimates were updated, whenever possible, by means of meta-analytical techniques. Results: More than 60 health consequences were identified for which a causal link between alcohol consumption and outcome can be assumed. Conclusions: Future research on alcohol-related health consequences should focus on standardization of exposure measures and take into consideration both average volume of consumption and patterns of drinking.