Less risk of alcoholic liver cirrhosis in moderate wine drinkers

Moderate wine consumption seems to be associated with a lower risk of alcoholic liver cirrhosis.

The risk of alcoholic cirrhosis among 55,917 participants (aged 50-64 years) in the Danish Cancer, Diet, and Health study was investigated by Danish researchers. During 18 years of follow-up, 257 and 85 incident cases of alcoholic cirrhosis among men and women, respectively, were observed. No cases were found among lifetime abstainers. The risk for alcoholic cirrhosis in relation to drinking frequency, lifetime alcohol amount, and beverage type was calculated. The results showed that daily drinking was associated with an increased risk of alcoholic cirrhosis. However, no significantly increased hazard was seen for men and women who drank mostly wine. The researchers concluded that compared to beer and liquor, moderate wine consumption might be associated with a lower risk of alcoholic cirrhosis.

Askgaard G, Grønbæk M, Kjær MS, et al. Alcohol drinking pattern and risk of alcoholic liver cirrhosis: A prospective cohort study. J Hepatol. 2015;62(5):1061-7.

For more information about this article, read the scientific abstract here.