Study Offers New Benchmark for Health Risks Tied to Alcohol Consumption

TUESDAY, June 9, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Two drinks per day is associated with a substantially elevated risk for a premature death caused by alcohol, according to a study published online June 8 in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Sinead George, from the University of Toronto, and colleagues estimated the lifetime risk for alcohol-attributable mortality and morbidity in the United States based on a person”s average lifetime weekly alcohol consumption and assessed the impact of per-occasion alcohol consumption on health. The analysis included combined exposure data from national health surveys, relative risks, population data from the U.S. Census Bureau, mortality data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and morbidity data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

The researchers found that at low levels of consumption, there was no protective net effect of alcohol consumption on health observed. Starting at relatively low levels, elevated mortality and morbidity risks were associated with alcohol consumption. For example, men consuming >6.5 and women consuming >7.0 drinks per week had lifetime alcohol-attributable mortality risks of >1:1,000. These risks increased to >1:100 at >8.5 drinks per week for both men and women, and at 14 drinks per week for men (the upper limit of the former dietary guidelines for men), the risk for an alcohol-caused death was 1:25. There was also an impact of drinking patterns on risk. For more than one drink per occasion, higher consumption was associated with progressively increased risks for breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, and injury.

“Having a clearer threshold helps people better understand what level of drinking is associated with increased risk and make more informed decisions when drinking,” lead author Kevin Shield, Ph.D., also from the University of Toronto, said in a statement.

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