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Press
backgrounder EURO 02/2001
Copenhagen and Stockholm, 19 February 2001
Alcohol:
no benefits to the heart noted at population level
European Comparative Alcohol Study
The
European Comparative Alcohol Study (ECAS)¹
describes and analyzes changes in alcohol policies, consumption trends,
drinking patterns and alcohol-related problems in 14 European Union (EU)
countries,²
plus Norway.
Key findings
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ECAS noted no benefits from alcohol consumption to heart health at the population level.
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“More is worse”; increases in per capita drinking increase alcohol-related mortality and harm.
-
European alcohol consumption patterns and control policies are slowly converging.
Heart disease unaffected by total consumption
ECAS
results suggest that there is no relationship between total alcohol
consumption and mortality from ischaemic heart disease. This lack of
evidence for a possible beneficial effect of alcohol consumption was
found in all countries, as well as in different age groups of men and
women. This suggests that an increase in per caput alcohol consumption
does not provide any protective effect on heart health at the population
level.
Converging alcohol consumption patterns and control policies
Decreases
in consumption in wine-drinking countries and increases in beer-drinking
countries³ resulted in converging per
caput consumption levels over the study period (see Fig. 1). The average
difference between the beer- and wine-drinking countries in total
consumption now appears to be no more than a few decilitres pure alcohol.
In
the year 2000 a significant decrease was noted in the control of
production and sales of alcoholic beverages and the regulation of
alcohol availability. Nevertheless, control measures targeted at demand
or alcohol-related problems have become more prevalent. Overall, control
scores haves dropped substantially for the countries in Europe that
formerly had the strictest alcohol policies: Finland, Norway and Sweden.
This is primarily a result of EU requirements for trade harmonization.
Effects
of drinking on mortality
The
relationship between total alcohol consumption and total mortality was
significantly positive in most of countries studied, and in no country
were increases in consumption significantly associated with decreases in
mortality. The relationship between consumption and harm was stronger in
northern and weakest in southern Europe, suggesting a changing impact of
drinking culture and its drinking patterns.
An
example of this is the link between alcohol and suicide; it is quite
marked in northern Europe, but weak or non-existent in southern and
central Europe. ECAS results also suggest that differences between
countries in alcohol-related mortality are strongly influenced by
cultural differences in recording practices.
Fig.
1. Trends in alcohol consumption per head in people aged 15 years and
over for three groups of
¹ ECAS was carried out by researchers in Helsinki, Stockholm and
Oslo, with support staff at the Swedish Institute for Public Health,
and collaborating partners from each of the study countries. ECAS was
granted funding by the European Commission, D-G V/F in August 1998,
and is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2001.
The focus is on the
time period 1950–1995 based on data collected in 1998.
[1]²
Luxembourg was not included for methodological reasons.
[1]³
Beer-drinking countries include those where spirits were formerly more
popular.
For more information, contact:
Technical
Information
Alcohol and all-cause mortality; integration of findings:
Thor Norström (ECAS coordinator)
Swedish Institute for Social Research, Sweden
E-mail: totto@sofi.su.se
Drinking patterns; integration of findings: Jussi Simpura (Ecas coordinator),
National Research Centre for Welfare and Health
Stakes, Finland
E-mail:
jussi.simpura@stakes.fi
Press
Information
Franklin
Apfel or Annette Andkjaer
Communication and Advocacy
WHO Regional Office for Europe
Scherfigsvej 8, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
Mobile: +45 201 499 17 Tel: +45 39 17 13 36 or +45 39 17 13 44
fax: +45 39 17 18 80
E-mail: fap@who.dk
or
ana@who.dk
Press releases on WorldWide Web site
(http://www.who.dk/cpa/cpa.htm)
Health
information for media professionals
WHO/Europe programme for Communications and Advocacy (CMA)
Alcol: non si notano benefici al cuore a livello di popolazione
Studio Europeo comparativo (Oms)
Lo Studio Europeo Comparativo sull'Alcol (ECAS) descrive ed analizza i cambiamenti nelle politiche sull'alcol,
Traduzione a cura di Ennio Palmesino
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