Irish guidelines on what constitutes low-risk alcohol consumption may need to be reconsidered based on latest research, according to a new report from the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).<\/p>\n
The report also says there is no strong basis for the sex-specific thresholds and that the difference in risk between men and women is minimal.<\/p>\n
HIQA says there is a substantial amount of risk associated with low levels of alcohol consumption.<\/p>\n
The existing HSE guidelines define low-risk as fewer than 11 standard drinks for women and fewer than 17 standard drinks a week for men.<\/p>\n
A standard unit is half a pint of beer, one small glass of wine or one pub measure of spirits.<\/p>\n
The last review of the guidelines here was in 2015.<\/p>\n
HIQA has also published a second report which models the risk of death and admission to hospital due to alcohol consumption.<\/p>\n
It found that alcohol was estimated to account for on average 1,420 deaths and 27,066 hospital admissions a year, between 2022 and 2024.<\/p>\n
The risk of death before age 75, death at any age, years of life lost and the rate of hospital admissions all grew in line with increasing alcohol consumption.<\/p>\n
The reports say there is no clear risk-free level of alcohol consumption.<\/p>\n
How weekly drinks are consumed and over how many days is also important, HIQA says.<\/p>\n
The review found no firm conclusions from the international literature on the impact of alcohol consumption on mental health.<\/p>\n
HIQA’s Deputy Director of Health Technology Assessment Michelle O\u2019Neill said the research published today shows a clear link between increased alcohol consumption and mortality and hospital admission rates.<\/p>\n