The CASCADE study (CArdiovaSCulAr Diabetes & Ethanol) is the first randomized wine study with a focus on diabetes. 224 abstainers with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to consume 1 glass (150 ml) of red wine, white wine or water for 2 years, on top of a Mediterranean diet that was not restricted in terms of calories.

a study comparing two groups: one with and the other without a certain disease, however with similar characteristics. The aim is to try identifying the factors leading to the disease.

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A comprehensive review of more than 7,000 peer-reviewed papers on the association of lifestyle factors and cancer undertaken by the World Cancer Research Fund in cooperation with the American Institute for Cancer Research (2007), reported that there are also alcohol threshold effects for colorectal cancer (CRC), the third most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide (Bray et al 2018). Indeed, an increased risk for colorectal cancer is only apparent above a threshold of 30 g alcohol/day for both men and women (Cai et al 2014). In addition, a large meta-analysis of 16 studies observed a J-shaped dose-response relationship such that moderate alcohol consumption (1-2 alcoholic beverages/day) was associated with a reduced CRC risk compared to abstinence; consistent with other studies, risk of CRC increased with consumption of three or more drinks per day (McNabb et al 2020).

Confounding factors is a possible source of bias interfering with the variable that you would like to examine, i.e. age, what people eat, if they smoke, etc.

the defining feature of a cross-sectional study is that it can compare different population groups at a single point in time (see also longitudinal study).