Meta-analysis2023 · J Stud Alcohol Drugs · Stockwell T et al.
Stockwell: “a little alcohol protects” is a cohort artefact — 107 studies
Who, how long
107 cohort studies, 4.8 million participants, 425,564 deaths
What they found
Moderate drinkers' apparent 14% mortality advantage vanished once studies removed former and “sick quitter” drinkers from the abstainer group and measured consumption at younger ages. No protective effect at low doses; risk rises above 25 g a day.
⚠ Caveat
A meta-analysis of heterogeneous studies; Mendelian randomisation (Millwood 2019, n=512,715) reached the same conclusion by an independent method.
Related in the knowledge base
Last reviewed: 6 September 2026
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