Alcohol offers no health benefits to younger adults, according to a recent study published in The Lancet. Researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington looked at the risk of alcohol consumption on 22 health outcomes, including injuries, cardiovascular diseases, and cancers for men and women between the ages of 15 and 95 in over 200 countries. They calculated that more than 1.3 billion people consumed harmful amounts of alcohol. Across the world, the largest group of people drinking unsafe amounts of alcohol were males between 15 and 39 years old. For people under 40, the researchers found no health benefits from alcohol but did find significant risk, including increased motor vehicle accidents, suicides, and homicides. For adults over 40 without underlying medical conditions, a small amount of alcohol might slightly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes.
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