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The headline looks like another entry in the endless "x is good for you / x is bad for you" genre of science journalism, but the article is actually a valuable

The headline looks like another entry in the endless "x is good for you / x is bad for you" genre of science journalism, but the article is actually a valuable object lesson in the complexities of trying to control for variables in any study. It's also a timely reminder of how socioeconomic factors remain one of the biggest predictors of health outcomes.

projektfu 10y ago
It is, but it's a good read because it reminds you to avoid the reductionist "eat this, don't eat that" thinking. Just because you find a little less cardiovascular disease or something, it doesn't mean that the overall effects on health are positive, and your correlation might be specious anyway.
nxc18 10y ago
I always just took them as a fun excuse for that glass of wine with dinner (that I would have had anyway). The pre-altfact alternative fact if you will. Excuse me while I go eat some chocolate "for Alzheimer's prevention". ;)
raarts 10y ago
Not to mention it's a sobering view into the world of science. Disappointing that nobody thought of this correlation for tens of years.
Retric 10y ago
It's really not based on a lot of data though. 2,908 people for 10 years while removing several groups and apparent health benefit is much reduced in women So, it still links drinking with health benefits even after splitting those people into a lot of small groups. If anything it demonstrates how a bias may influence study design and reporting.
- DanBC 10y ago
  No! For some time now we've thought that moderate drinking does not provide any health advantages[1] except to older women, and that it provides a small health advantage to those women. This research just tells us that moderate drinking isn't useful to older women either. [1] there are some advantages but these are outweighed by the disadvantages.
  - Retric 10y ago
    This research really does not provide significant evidence for that idea. I realize your preconceived ideas align with this idea, but there is no evidence of harm from this study! It also does show evidence of heath benefit for women. It's likely that men also benifit though to a lesser degree, which is to small to show in this data. Remember westerners had daily alcohol intake for a very long time. Much like Milk it's negative effects on that population are likely reduced. PS: This is also analyzing 3rd party data for heath effects which is a very low order of evidence. https://xkcd.com/882/ https://xkcd.com/882/

projektfu 10y ago

It is, but it's a good read because it reminds you to avoid the reductionist "eat this, don't eat that" thinking. Just because you find a little less cardiovascular disease or something, it doesn't mean that the overall effects on health are positive, and your correlation might be specious anyway.

nxc18 10y ago

I always just took them as a fun excuse for that glass of wine with dinner (that I would have had anyway). The pre-altfact alternative fact if you will. Excuse me while I go eat some chocolate "for Alzheimer's prevention". ;)

raarts 10y ago

Not to mention it's a sobering view into the world of science. Disappointing that nobody thought of this correlation for tens of years.

Retric 10y ago

It's really not based on a lot of data though. 2,908 people for 10 years while removing several groups and apparent health benefit is much reduced in women So, it still links drinking with health benefits even after splitting those people into a lot of small groups. If anything it demonstrates how a bias may influence study design and reporting.

DanBC 10y ago
No! For some time now we've thought that moderate drinking does not provide any health advantages[1] except to older women, and that it provides a small health advantage to those women. This research just tells us that moderate drinking isn't useful to older women either. [1] there are some advantages but these are outweighed by the disadvantages.
- Retric 10y ago
  This research really does not provide significant evidence for that idea. I realize your preconceived ideas align with this idea, but there is no evidence of harm from this study! It also does show evidence of heath benefit for women. It's likely that men also benifit though to a lesser degree, which is to small to show in this data. Remember westerners had daily alcohol intake for a very long time. Much like Milk it's negative effects on that population are likely reduced. PS: This is also analyzing 3rd party data for heath effects which is a very low order of evidence. https://xkcd.com/882/ https://xkcd.com/882/