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Should we remove wine from the Mediterranean diet?: a narrative review.

The American journal of clinical nutrition
February 1, 2024
Miguel A Martínez-González
Journal ArticleReviewResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tHuman Study
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to determine whether moderate alcohol (specifically red wine) consumption within a Mediterranean diet has beneficial effects on cardiovascular health and all-cause mortality, compared to abstention.

Results Summary

Observational studies suggest light-to-moderate alcohol intake may reduce cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality, but recent evidence (including Mendelian randomization) indicates the safest level of alcohol consumption is zero. A new trial (UNATI) will further investigate this controversy.

Population

Males aged 50-70 and females aged 55-75 who are current drinkers.

Effective Dosage

Not specified (advice on moderation vs. abstention).

Duration

4 years.

Interactions

None mentioned.

Extracted Claims (7)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
light-to-moderate alcohol intake
decrease
cardiovascular disease
-
-
associated with reduced risk
#1
light-to-moderate alcohol intake
decrease
all-cause mortality
-
-
associated with reduced risk
#2
alcohol consumption
increase
cancer
-
-
associated with increased risks
#3
alcohol consumption
increase
neurological harms
-
-
associated with increased risks
#4
alcohol consumption
increase
injuries
-
-
associated with increased risks
#5
alcohol consumption
increase
other adverse outcomes
-
-
associated with increased risks
#6
wine
neutral
-
context of a healthy Mediterranean dietary pattern
-
potential beneficial role
#7
Abstract

Moderate alcohol intake (or, more specifically, red wine) represents one of the postulated beneficial components of the traditional Mediterranean diet. Many well-conducted nonrandomized studies have reported that light-to-moderate alcohol intake is not only associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, but also of all-cause mortality. Nonetheless, alcohol is an addictive substance imposing huge threats for public health. Alcohol consumption is associated with increased risks of cancer, neurological harms, injuries, and other adverse outcomes. Both the Global Burden of Disease (2016) and Mendelian randomization studies recently supported that the healthiest level of alcohol intake should be 0. Therefore, despite findings of conventional observational epidemiologic studies supporting a potential beneficial role of wine in the context of a healthy Mediterranean dietary pattern, a strong controversy remains on this issue. Age, sex, and drinking patterns are likely to be strong effect modifiers. In this context, a new 4-y noninferiority pragmatic trial in Spain (University of Navarra Alumni Trialist Initiative or "UNATI"), publicly funded by the European Research Council, will randomly assign >10,000 current drinkers (males, 50-70 y; females, 55-75 y) to repeatedly receive advice on either abstention or moderation in alcohol consumption. The recruitment will begin in mid-2024. The primary endpoint is a composite of the main clinical outcomes potentially related to alcohol intake including all-cause mortality. Clinical trial registry number: PREDIMED, ISRCTN35739639, www.predimed.es; SUN, clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02669602, https://medpreventiva.es/i2CmeL.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
FemaleHumansMaleAlcohol DrinkingAlcoholic BeveragesCardiovascular DiseasesDiet, MediterraneanWineMiddle AgedAged
Study Links
Quality Scores
Safety40
Efficacy60/10
Quality85/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations7
Citations/Year7.0
Relative Citation Ratio2.92
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.75
Weight Score3.05
Normalized Score0.57
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