Risk threshold of alcohol consumption for liver cirrhosis
An important aspect of public health policy concerning alcohol
has been the attempt to establish a safe threshold for consumption.
This revolves primarily around the extent to which moderate
alcohol consumption is cardioprotective [27,28]. This positive
effect of alcohol, if real, can then offset the large array of negative
health consequences of even moderate alcohol consumption. For
many individual diseases such as liver cirrhosis; however, there
is no a priori reason to believe a threshold effect exists, as risk
appears to increase steeply with the amount of alcohol consumed.
In a meta-analysis of daily consumption levels in relation
to cirrhosis, patients taking 25 g of ethanol a day were at higher
risk of cirrhosis than non-drinkers [29]. A more recent metaanalysis
found increased risks of mortality from liver cirrhosis
among men and women drinking 12–24 g of ethanol per day
[30]. Indeed, among women, a significant increase was also seen
for those drinking up to 12 g/day. These levels of consumption
(