Draft Report: Scientific Findings of the Alcohol Intake and Health Study for Public Comment

In January 2025, the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD), a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) committee, published the draft report of its alcohol intake and health study, “Scientific Findings of the Alcohol Intake & Health Study” (AIH), for public comment. The paper assesses relationships between alcohol use and health in the United States, with a focus on morbidity and mortality (i.e., deaths and reduced life expectancy) from health conditions that are causally related to alcohol use.

Dr. Priscilla Martinez, deputy scientific director at PHI’s Alcohol Research Group, served on the ICCPUD Scientific Review Panel and is a co-author of the report.

This paper will inform the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as they co-develop the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030. Public comments are accepted between January 15 through February 14, 2025.

The AIH assesses relationships between different levels of alcohol consumption and the risk (whether increased, decreased, or no difference in risk) of dying or experiencing other conditions that are causally related to alcohol consumption in the U.S. and models the total alcohol-specific mortality at different levels of consumption based on all alcohol-related conditions.

Report Findings

• Among the U.S. population, the risk of dying from alcohol use begins at low levels of average use. Higher levels of alcohol consumption are linked with progressively higher mortality risk. Depending on the level of use, men are at a similar risk of health harms from alcohol use compared to women.
• For men, the lifetime risk of dying from alcohol exceeds 1:1000 (i.e., 1 death per 1000 people) above 7 drinks per week and exceeds 1:100 above 8.5 drinks per week. For women, the risk of dying from alcohol exceeds 1:1000 above 6.5 drinks per week and exceeds 1:100 above 8.5 drinks per week.
• For men, at 2 standard drinks per day on average there are an estimated 39.3 (95% CI: 9.6, 69.6) alcohol-attributable deaths per 1000 lifetimes, 24.3 (95% CI: 15.4, 34.9) premature (i.e., occurring prior to age 70) alcohol-attributable deaths per 1000 lifetimes.
• Alcohol use is associated with increased risk for seven types of cancer (colorectal, female breast, liver, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus [squamous cell type]). Increased risk for these cancers begins with any alcohol use and increases with higher levels of use. Women experience a much greater risk of an alcohol-attributable cancer per drink consumed.
• ‘Per occasion’ alcohol use refers to how much alcohol is consumed within a short time, as opposed to how much is consumed on average. Higher levels of per occasion use result in higher blood alcohol levels and higher risks for injuries. Risks increase starting at one drink per occasion and are particularly pronounced for women consuming more than three drinks and men consuming more than four drinks per occasion.
• There is no evidence that purposefully beginning to drink alcohol for health reasons results in prevention of mortality or morbidity.
• Some outcomes, especially at lower levels of alcohol use were associated with lowered risk compared to people who do not drink, and some outcomes showed no difference in risk. However, ask the level of alcohol consumed increased, generally, risk for the assessed outcomes in the study increased.