title: Alcohol-a universal preventive agent? A critical analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In observational studies, moderate drinking is associated with a reduced risk of more than twenty different diseases and health problems. However, it would be premature to conclude that there is a causal relationship.
  
  
  METHODS
  This paper critically reviews the evidence for such associations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was found that reasons for questioning the causal association of moderate drinking and a reduced health risk are: the lack of dose-response relationships; the characteristics and lifestyles of today's abstainers and moderate drinkers; the lack of plausible biological mechanisms; the problems in the classification of drinking groups, and; the general limitations of observational studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The evidence for the harmful effects of alcohol is undoubtedly stronger than the evidence for beneficial effects.
authors.affiliation: Actis, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Hans Olav
authors.initials: HO
authors.lastname: Fekjaer
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D013695:Temperance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol
keywords: Alcohol; causallity; confounders; diseases; prevention