Latest scientific news 30 January 2025

Two conflicting reports for drafting the US Dietary Guidelines 2025

1. NASEM report supports benefits of moderate drinking

According to a report from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM), individuals who drink alcoholic beverages in moderation have a lower all-cause mortality and a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease than non-drinkers. This report about alcohol’s health effects will inform the Committee of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Top scientists from leading US institutions summarized the scientific evidence since 2010 on how moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages is associated with body weight changes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurocognition and all-cause mortality. They do not make any recommendations. Moderate consumption is defined as one drink per day for women (14 g of alcohol) and two drinks per day for men (28 g of alcohol).

National Academies of Sciences, Engeneering and Medicine (NASEM) published a review of evidence on Alcohol and Health (December 2024) systematic review.

2. The report from the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)) looked at the relationship between alcohol use and health in the US  (Scientific Findings of the Alcohol Intake & Health Study)

The purpose is the same as the NASEM report: to help HHS in re-assessing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), which are updated every five years to reflect new scientific knowledge and are currently drafted for 2025-2030. Right now, the DGAs recommend no more than two drinks a day for men (28 g of alcohol) and one for women (14 g of alcohol).

The authors concluded that among the U.S. population, the risk of dying from alcohol use begins at low levels of average use. Higher levels of alcohol consumption are linked with a progressively higher mortality risk. Depending on the level of use, men are at a similar risk of health harms from alcohol consumption compared to women. In the US, both men and women have a 1 in 1000 risk of dying if they consume more than 7 drinks per week. This risk increases to 1 in 100 if they consume more than 9 drinks per week.

Background:

  • 2 reports – same purpose: The ICCPUD report has been controversial since the congress had already asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) to write a report on the exact same topic. It has also been questioned why the HHS commission asked this particular committee – which has actually the task to prevent underage drinking?
  • Dilemma: Those who review the Guidelines have two contradictory reports.
  • Experts: ICCPU consists of six experts, three of them worked on Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health and recommended that consumers only drink 2 drinks/week or less to avoid increased health risks.

These two reports are intended to inform the DGAs review process but came to competing conclusions, which continues a longstanding debate on how to weigh the potential risks and benefits of alcohol. While the NASEM review found a mix of benefits and harms from moderate drinking, the ICCPUD review suggested that even the smallest amounts of alcohol (one drink per week) increased risk of death and various diseases.