Latest Scientific News
Updated information about scientific approaches and research field.
Thursday, 27 April 2017 06:51
Only “couch potatoes” seem to have a higher alcohol-related cancer and mortality risk
The results of this large British study showed that the association between alcohol intake and mortality risk was moderated by physical activity. Among drinking “couch potatoes” (inactive participants not meeting the recommendation of minimal physical activity per week), a clear dose-response risk for cancer mortality - from drinking within the guidelines and up to a harmful level - was observed. High consumption of alcoholic beverages is linked to an increased risk of all-cause and cancer mortality and certain cardiovascular diseases…
Thursday, 27 April 2017 06:49
Decreased risk of gallstone disease with moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages
This meta-analysis suggests that moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages is associated with a significantly decreased risk of gallstone disease. Chinese epidemiologists carried out a meta-analysis to quantitatively summarize the evidence from observational studies on alcohol consumption and the risk of gallstone disease. The results showed that the highest versus the lowest category of alcohol intake was associated with a statistically significant 38 % lower risk of gallstone disease. There was no difference between men and women, both had a statistically…
Thursday, 27 April 2017 06:47
Moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages can slow down HDL-cholesterol decreases with age
In this large prospective study, the researchers showed an umbrella-shaped association between the total intake of alcoholic beverages and the longitudinal change of the “good” HDL cholesterol. The decrease of HDL-cholesterol with age was lowest among moderate drinkers. Higher levels of the “good” HDL-cholesterol (HDL) are believed to be protective against cardiovascular disease and greater consumption of alcoholic beverages has been associated with higher HDL concentrations in a dose-response manner. As HDL is known to decrease with age, American and…
Thursday, 27 April 2017 06:42
Moderate drinkers fare best in cardiovascular and total mortality
As soon as a new study confirms that moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages compared to abstinence is associated with a lower cardiovascular disease risk, critics challenge these findings referring to the “sick quitters” in the reference group. Their main argument is that in the reference group, former drinkers who quit drinking for health reasons will be misclassified as abstainers. The current study with nearly 2 million participants refutes this argument and confirms the J-shaped association of moderate consumption of alcoholic…
Tuesday, 28 February 2017 14:42
Effectiveness of current French health warnings
The current qualitative study intended to investigate whether health warnings can be effective in regulating alcohol consumption. This study is the first to explore the effectiveness of two mandatory health warnings introduced in France in 1991 (“Alcohol is harmful” displayed on alcohol advertisements) and 2007 (a pictogram on bottles). The results of this qualitative study (in-depth interviews with 26 French individuals, age 15-29 years) showed that both warnings suffered from a lack of visibility and noticeability due to their size,…