Alcohol health benefits affected by race

Black people may not receive the same health benefits from moderate alcohol consumption as white people, researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston have suggested.

Black people may not receive same health benefits from moderate alcohol drinking as white people, a study has suggested.

The study took data collected from 152,180 adults (25,811 black and 126,369 white) questioned on their alcohol habits as part of the US National Health Interview Survey from 1997–2002, with a follow-up carried out in 2006 to account for deaths.

While moderate alcohol consumption appears to lower mortality risk among white people, it may not have the same protective effect among black people, the study concluded. The potential benefits of alcohol may also vary by gender.

“Current dietary guidelines recommend moderate consumption for adult Americans who consume alcoholic beverages. Our study suggests that additional refinements based on race/ethnicity may be necessary,” said Chandra Jackson, research associate in the Harvard Chan Department of Epidemiology, research associate in clinical and translational research at Harvard Medical School, and lead author of the study.

Results showed that 13% of white men and 24% of black men said they never drank. Among women, 23% of white women and 42% of black women reported never drinking.

Looking at the relationship between drinking alcohol and mortality, researchers found that for men the lowest risk of mortality was among white men who consumed 1-2 drinks 3-7 days per week, and among black men who didn’t drink at all.

For women, the lowest risk of mortality was among white women consuming one drink per day 3-7 days per week, and among black women who consumed one drink on two or fewer days per week.

Previous research has found an association between moderate drinking and lowered risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and premature mortality, but those studies were conducted among mostly white populations, the study added.

The research, entitled “Black–White Differences in the Relationship Between Alcohol Drinking Patterns and Mortality Among US Men and Women,” was published in the American Journal of Public Health.