Health effects associated with alcohol consumption: a Burden of Proof study
5 affiliations
- 1Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA USA
- 2Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA USA
- 3Department of Health Metrics Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA USA
- 4Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA USA
- 5Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Abstract
The relationship between alcohol and health is complex, and the evidence relating alcohol consumption to various cardiovascular diseases, cancers and other conditions is evolving. Moreover, alcohol drinking guidelines vary widely. Here we conducted 16 systematic reviews across four databases and conservatively re-evaluated dose-response relationships between alcohol consumption and 20 health outcomes, analysing 843 cohort and case-control studies using the Burden of Proof meta-analytic framework. We found that levels of current alcohol consumption are associated with increased risks for cancers of the breast, colorectum, oesophagus, larynx, lip and oral cavities, pharynx, liver, stomach, pancreas and prostate, as well as pancreatitis, cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases, lower respiratory infections, tuberculosis, and atrial fibrillation and flutter. We found J- or U-shaped relationships between alcohol consumption and type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, ischaemic heart disease, ischaemic stroke and haemorrhagic stroke. While potential health impacts at low-to-moderate levels varied by outcome, high levels of alcohol consumption were associated with increased risk across all outcomes.
Related
- Prevalence and factors associated with alcohol consumption among youths of Siddharthanagar Municipality, Rupandehi District, Lumbini Province, Nepal: a community-based cross-sectional study
- A review of the relationship between dimensions of alcohol consumption and the burden of disease: 2026 update including Mendelian randomisation studies
- Are Increases in Purchasing Alcohol-Free and Low-Alcohol Drinks Associated With Attempts to Cut Down on Alcohol Consumption in England? A Time Series Analysis.
- Health risks of alcohol consumption in Aotearoa New Zealand: modelling to inform low-risk-drinking guidelines.
- Comparison of modeling strategies to study the effect of an exposure on changes in continuous outcomes: evaluating the impact of alcohol consumption on changes in cardiometabolic health markers based on the German National Cohort (NAKO).
BibTeX
@article{dai2026health,
title = {{Health effects associated with alcohol consumption: a Burden of Proof study}},
author = {Xiaochen Dai and Sneha Ingle Nicholson and Hilary R. Lawlor and Sinclair Carr and Jaimie D Steinmetz and Natalie M Chen and Susan A. McLaughlin and Simon Iain Hay and Sok King Ong and Aleksandr Y. Aravkin and Peng Zheng and Reed J D Sorensen and Nora M Gilbertson and Erin C Mullany and Erin M O’Connell and Christopher J L Murray and Emmanuela E. Gakidou},
journal = {Nature Health},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1038/s44360-026-00139-5},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s44360-026-00139-5},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Health effects associated with alcohol consumption: a Burden of Proof study
AU - Xiaochen Dai
AU - Sneha Ingle Nicholson
AU - Hilary R. Lawlor
AU - Sinclair Carr
AU - Jaimie D Steinmetz
AU - Natalie M Chen
AU - Susan A. McLaughlin
AU - Simon Iain Hay
AU - Sok King Ong
AU - Aleksandr Y. Aravkin
AU - Peng Zheng
AU - Reed J D Sorensen
AU - Nora M Gilbertson
AU - Erin C Mullany
AU - Erin M O’Connell
AU - Christopher J L Murray
AU - Emmanuela E. Gakidou
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/01
JO - Nature Health
DO - 10.1038/s44360-026-00139-5
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s44360-026-00139-5
AB - The relationship between alcohol and health is complex, and the evidence relating alcohol consumption to various cardiovascular diseases, cancers and other conditions is evolving. Moreover, alcohol drinking guidelines vary widely. Here we conducted 16 systematic reviews across four databases and conservatively re-evaluated dose-response relationships between alcohol consumption and 20 health outcomes, analysing 843 cohort and case-control studies using the Burden of Proof meta-analytic framework. We found that levels of current alcohol consumption are associated with increased risks for cancers of the breast, colorectum, oesophagus, larynx, lip and oral cavities, pharynx, liver, stomach, pancreas and prostate, as well as pancreatitis, cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases, lower respiratory infections, tuberculosis, and atrial fibrillation and flutter. We found J- or U-shaped relationships between alcohol consumption and type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, ischaemic heart disease, ischaemic stroke and haemorrhagic stroke. While potential health impacts at low-to-moderate levels varied by outcome, high levels of alcohol consumption were associated with increased risk across all outcomes.
SN - 3005-0693
ER -