Alcohol Intake and Health: Where Does Risk Begin?

The health effects of low levels of alcohol consumption remain controversial. Large observational studies have suggested cardiovascular benefits at low levels of drinking, whereas recent public health guidance has questioned whether any level of alcohol consumption is risk-free (Figure 1). Investigators used a modeling approach based on U.S. data to estimate alcohol-related risk across the full spectrum of alcohol consumption, with the goal of better characterizing risk within categories traditionally considered low-risk.