A new review published in the journal Addiction confirms drinking causes substantial harm to health. Some of those harms may be reversible if the person reduces or stops drinking.
Some of the above harms can be reversed by reducing or stopping drinking:
Senior author Dr. Jürgen Rehm, Senior Scientist at the Canadian Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), comments: “Even though we now know a lot about alcohol’s effects on health, it is still controversial whether a little drinking is good for your heart. When examining both cohort studies and Mendelian randomisation studies, and all their potential strengths and biases, we conclude that there is not enough evidence to rule out a beneficial effect of drinking on ischaemic heart disease and ischaemic stroke.”
Sinclair Carr, first author of the review, adds: “Our review of the current evidence on alcohol's effects on health leads to a cautious but clear conclusion: alcohol is a major cause of disease and injury, and its harms outweigh any potential benefits.” Sinclair Carr is a PhD candidate at the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
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For editors:
This Open Access paper will be available on the Wiley Online Library after the embargo has lifted ( https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.70435 ) or you may request an early copy from Jean O’Reilly, Editorial Manager, Addiction , jean@addictionjournal.org .
To speak with senior author Dr Jürgen Rehm, please contact him at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) by email: media@camh.ca .
To speak with first author Mr. Sinclair Carr, please contact him at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health by email: scarr@hsph.harvard.edu .
Full citation for article: Carr S, Espinosa Dice AL, Gmel GE Sr., Hassan AS, Shield KD, and Rehm J. A review of the relationship between dimensions of alcohol consumption and the burden of disease: 2026 update including Mendelian randomisation studies. Addiction . 2026. DOI: 10.1111/add.70435.
Primary funding: Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health (NIAAA), grant number 1R01AA028224.
Declaration of interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Addiction ( www.addictionjournal.org ) is a monthly international scientific journal publishing peer-reviewed research reports on alcohol, substances, tobacco, gambling, editorials, and other debate pieces. Owned by the Society for the Study of Addiction, it has been in continuous publication since 1884.
Addiction
Systematic review
People
A review of the relationship between dimensions of alcohol consumption and the burden of disease: 2026 update including Mendelian randomisation studies
14-May-2026
The authors report no conflicts of interest to disclose.