Biased Alcohol Studies vs Reality (E85)

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Recently, wine spectator shared an article on Instagram about how moderate, daily wine drinking helped you not get covid. Most people see that post and think, “great, I knew I was doing something right!” and very few people actually go read the article. In this episode, Gill discusses science funded by the alcohol industry, how that ends up influencing the results, and how you can know the difference between biased, exaggerated claims and the truth. She walks you through a few different studies that support how alcohol is healthy, shows you the holes in these studies, and what the truth is. By the end of the episode you'll be able to spot biased science and you'll learn a bit more about how pervasive the alcohol industry is in scientific research today.

Wine Spectator Study
https://www.winespectator.com/articles/new-study-suggests-red-wine-reduces-covid-infection-rates

What to listen to next:
E80: Benefits of a Dry Month
E79: Why We Romanticize Alcohol
E76: Learning the Truth About Your Drinking with Dr. Anna Lembke, Author of Dopamine Nation

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Sources

1. R. Mungmungpuntipantip, V. Wiwanitkit. Sharing alcoholic drinks and a COVID-19 outbreak. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 55 (4) (2020), p. 343,

2. A. Schuchat. Public Health response to the initiation and spread of pandemic COVID-19 in the United States, february 24–april 21, 2020. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69 (18) (2020), pp. 551-556

3. Bailey, K. et al. Alcohol use disorder: a pre-existing condition for COVID-19? Alcohol. 90:11-17. 2021.

4. Haag, F., Janicova, A., Xu, B. et al. Reduced phagocytosis, ROS production and enhanced apoptosis of leukocytes upon alcohol drinking in healthy volunteers. Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg (2021).

5. McCambridge J, Mialon M. Alcohol industry involvement in science: A systematic review of the perspectives of the alcohol research community. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2018;37(5):565-579. doi:10.1111/dar.12826

6. Mercer, P. Study suggest moderate alcohol consumption could be good for heart health. VOA. 2021.

7. Davey, M. Nonsensical to suggest moderate drinking improves health, says expert critical of Australian study. The Guardian. 2021. 

8. Stockwell T, Zhao J, Panwar S, Roemer A, Naimi T, Chikritzhs T. Do "Moderate" Drinkers Have Reduced Mortality Risk? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Alcohol Consumption and All-Cause Mortality. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2016;77(2):185-198. doi:10.15288/jsad.2016.77.185

9. Su Golder, Jack Garry, Jim McCambridge, Declared funding and authorship by alcohol industry actors in the scientific literature: a bibliometric study, European Journal of Public Health, Volume 30, Issue 6, December 2020, Pages 1193–1200,

10. Hughes, S. Increase in alcohol-industry funded research is a cause for concern, study suggests. Eureka Alert. 2020.

Cite this episode

Tietz, G. Episode 85: Biased Alcohol Studies vs Reality. Sober Powered. 2022.

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