[Drinking] All drinking is bad for you

[Questions]

If think the 'expert comment' at the end of The Guardian's piece on it sums it up quite nicely:

David Spiegelhalter, Winton professor for the public understanding of risk at the University of Cambridge, said the data showed only a very low level of harm in moderate drinkers and suggested UK guidelines were very low risk.

“Given the pleasure presumably associated with moderate drinking, claiming there is no ‘safe’ level does not seem an argument for abstention,” he said. “There is no safe level of driving, but government do not recommend that people avoid driving. Come to think of it, there is no safe level of living, but nobody would recommend abstention.”

Full article: https://www.theguardian.com/society...level-of-alcohol-consumption-says-major-study

As for me, I shall be imbibing this weekend as usual.*




*In moderation of course...

*Pinocchio*

Of course... everything in moderation....even moderation.

 

[Questions]

We've all got to die of something, sooner or later. I find doctors are bad for my health.

Indeed. I just hope that I get what an old friend of my mother died of. When I asked her what killed her my mum replied,
“Oh it was nothing serious.”

 

[father_and_son]

Guess it depends on your preference on 'how you go'

People who are teetotal in middle age are at greater risk of developing dementia than those who drink moderate amounts, with benefits particularly apparent in wine drinkers, a new study has found.

Researchers found abstinence was associated with a 45 per cent increase in the chances of getting dementia by early old age, compared to those who drank within recommended limits – up to a bottle and a half of wine a week.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...-middle-age-teetotal-abstinence-a8473351.html

Without pouring over the original study, I would suggest that the conclusion being drawn is at best dubious...

Have they accounted for the inherent bias in the data?
A significant proportion of teatotallers are that way because because of a prior history of *excessive* alcohol consumption. In which case the increased incidence of dementia may be attributed to the previous lifestyle rather than the current lifestyle of the respective test subjects. Not only could this negate the conclusion but could actually pretty much reverse it completely!

Journalists should be forced to study statistics before being allowed to report on any studies like this so that they do not make unsubstantiated statements solely because they have misunderstood the study or can't see that the study is flawed.

 

[Bakero]

Without pouring over the original study, I would suggest that the conclusion being drawn is at best dubious...

Have they accounted for the inherent bias in the data?
A significant proportion of teatotallers are that way because because of a prior history of *excessive* alcohol consumption. In which case the increased incidence of dementia may be attributed to the previous lifestyle rather than the current lifestyle of the respective test subjects. Not only could this negate the conclusion but could actually pretty much reverse it completely!

Journalists should be forced to study statistics before being allowed to report on any studies like this so that they do not make unsubstantiated statements solely because they have misunderstood the study or can't see that the study is flawed.

Freudian slip?

 

[father_and_son]

I'd like to blame autocorrect for that one... only because you don't really pour when you slug it straight from the bottle!

 

[Postman Pat]

Without pouring over the original study, I would suggest that the conclusion being drawn is at best dubious...

Have they accounted for the inherent bias in the data?
A significant proportion of teatotallers are that way because because of a prior history of *excessive* alcohol consumption. In which case the increased incidence of dementia may be attributed to the previous lifestyle rather than the current lifestyle of the respective test subjects. Not only could this negate the conclusion but could actually pretty much reverse it completely!

Journalists should be forced to study statistics before being allowed to report on any studies like this so that they do not make unsubstantiated statements solely because they have misunderstood the study or can't see that the study is flawed.

To be fair it does make exactly that point at the end of the article.....Dr Sara Imarisio, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, agreed, adding: “People who completely abstain from alcohol may have a history of heavy drinking and this can make it difficult to interpret the links between drinking and health.

“Future research will need to examine drinking habits across a whole lifetime, and this will help to shed more light on the relationship between alcohol and dementia.”

 

[BHAFC_Pandapops]

Surely a bottle of wine a week is more healthy than worrying yourself into an early grave about what is bad for you.

 

[vegster]

Who on earth would want to face life without alcohol ? Yes its probably bad and killing us all by degrees but why would anyone want to face this life sober ?

 

[schmunk]

To be fair it does make exactly that point at the end of the article.....Dr Sara Imarisio, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, agreed, adding: “People who completely abstain from alcohol may have a history of heavy drinking and this can make it difficult to interpret the links between drinking and health.

“Future research will need to examine drinking habits across a whole lifetime, and this will help to shed more light on the relationship between alcohol and dementia.”

All of this is nothing new - I remember attending a 'be healthy' departmental awayday with work about 15 years ago (before the credit crunch put paid to such malarkey) where we had a talk from a doctor/Times columnist who said exactly this stuff.

 

[Dick Head]

I think you will find breathing has health risks, what with all the pollution and everything.

Especially if you are breathing alcohol.

 

[sjamesb3466]

When I was a student I had to go to the doctors with an unrelated stomach issue and he asked me about my average weekly alcohol consumption. When I told him his response was 'well nobody wants to live forever eh?!'. Loved him. Plus his name was Doctor I. B. Cross (genuinely true). If only he had been Jamaican rather than a middle aged white man it would have been perfect.