Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol The National Health and Medical Research council (NHMRC) released revised guidelines which aim to reduce the risks associated with alcohol consumption. The Guidelines can be found on the National and Medical Research Council website — http://www.nhrrirc.dov.au/publications/synobses/ds10s_yn.htnn It provides universal guidance for healthy adults aged 18 years and over and guidelines specific to children and young people and to pregnant and breastfeeding women. The guidelines do not represent a 'safe" or "no-risk" level. Rather, it is an advisory drinking level that enables healthy adults to maintain a low risk of alcohol-related accidents, injuries, diseases and death. What is a standard drink? The term "standard drink" should not be confused with a serving of alcohol, which is often much larger. For example, with wine, a standard drink corresponds to 100mL of wine, whereas a typical serve is at least 150mL. Australian law requires that all cans, bottles and casks containing alcoholic beverages be labelled with the approximate amount of standard drinks it contains. However, it can sometimes be difficult to translate standard drinks into real-life scenarios. There are no common glass sizes used across all drinking environments and people often underestimate how much they are drinking. This is compounded where large containers such as jugs and casks, are shared, where glasses are topped up by others, where the composition of mixed drinks is not known eg. cocktails or punch, and when pre-mixed spirit drinks contain a variable amount of alcohol per bottle or can.

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Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol

Compassionate Cities: Public Health and End-of-Life Care

Systematic review of effects of low-moderate prenatal alcohol exposure on pregnancy outcome.

One of the most tragic outcomes of a woman’s addiction to or abuse of alcohol is the effects on the unborn child. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is common and preventable. Western estimates suggest that FASD affects 1% of the population, and in some communities, the frequency is much higher. FASD is caused by a mother’s use of alcohol with or without other substances of abuse that can result in permanent physical and neurodevelopmental impairments to her unborn child. In addition to the primary effects of FASD, affected children are at risk of developing secondary disabilities, including drug and alcohol addictions. It is uncertain what factors, genetic and/or environmental, lead to this addiction. The individual, social, and financial costs are enormous. Multidisciplinary teams have been developed to improve ascertainment of, and standardized approaches to, FASD diagnosis. Strategies and mentorship programs have been developed to better recognize and support women at risk for having FASD children. We discuss issues specific to the treatment and management of FASD adolescents and adults who are struggling with addiction to alcohol and other substances.

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Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

In support of the 2005 update of the U.S. Department of Agriculture/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Dietary Guidelines, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism was asked to assess the strength of the evidence related to health risks and potential benefits of moderate alcohol consumption, with particular focus on the areas of cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, obesity, birth defects, breastfeeding, and aging. The findings were reviewed by external researchers with extensive research backgrounds on the consequences and benefits of alcohol consumption. This report now serves as the National Institutes of Health's formal position paper on the health risks and potential benefits of moderate alcohol use.

Dimitris Polygenis

Papers

Moderate Alcohol Consumption during Pregnancy and the Incidence of Fetal Malformations: A Meta-Analysis