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A lot of research has shown supposed health benefits of alcohol, but it all has something in common: it's based entirely on observational data, with no interven

A lot of research has shown supposed health benefits of alcohol, but it all has something in common: it's based entirely on observational data, with no intervention performed. Observational studies have an extremely poor track record in health and especially in nutrition, and are not experiments, but they get reported as though they were science. So we get reversals like this one. (Which was entirely expected.)

droopyEyelids 10y ago
Thank you, I hadn't known there was a distinction between "observational" and "interventional" studies, but now it seems like an important idea I could use to parse all the pop science that people talk about all day. http://www.isupportresearch.com/whats-the-difference-between-an-observational-trial-and-an-interventional-trial/ http://www.isupportresearch.com/whats-the-difference-between... (short definitions)
- TeMPOraL 10y ago
  I like this link better: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4083571/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4083571/ The short definitions from your link seem to say that interventional studies are ones with interventions, and observational studies don't have interventions except when they do. This is pretty confusing.
JamesBarney 10y ago
There is some interventional research on the health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption like the one listed below. I have no idea what the quality is, but just wanted to point out there is some non-observational evidence. Moderate-dose Regular Lifelong Alcohol Intake Changes the Intestinal Flora, Protects against Aging, and Keeps Spatial Memory in the Senescence-accelerated Mouse Prone 8 (SAMP8) Model. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28057167 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28057167
- gwern 10y ago
  There's much better research than that. Try "Effects of Initiating Moderate Alcohol Intake on Cardiometabolic Risk in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: A 2-Year Randomized, Controlled Trial" https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yftach_Gepner/publication/282813162_Effects_of_Initiating_Moderate_Alcohol_Intake_on_Cardiometabolic_Risk_in_Adults_With_Type_2_Diabetes_A_2-Year_Randomized_Controlled_Trial/links/56d9f74a08aebe4638bb9d76.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yftach_Gepner/publicati... , Gepner et al 2015
  - DrScump 10y ago
    Wow, this is really interesting (at my quick glance). I'm concerned that they don't state that they clearly isolated to what degree the alcohol vs. other compounds specific to wine had which effects.
  - JamesBarney 10y ago
    Thanks that is indeed far better research. Do you have any tips on finding good research quickly? Is it just getting more familiar with the pubmed filters?
kochthesecond 10y ago
Feynman actually has a good piece on "science" like this.

droopyEyelids 10y ago

Thank you, I hadn't known there was a distinction between "observational" and "interventional" studies, but now it seems like an important idea I could use to parse all the pop science that people talk about all day. http://www.isupportresearch.com/whats-the-difference-between-an-observational-trial-and-an-interventional-trial/ http://www.isupportresearch.com/whats-the-difference-between... (short definitions)

TeMPOraL 10y ago
I like this link better: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4083571/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4083571/ The short definitions from your link seem to say that interventional studies are ones with interventions, and observational studies don't have interventions except when they do. This is pretty confusing.

JamesBarney 10y ago

There is some interventional research on the health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption like the one listed below. I have no idea what the quality is, but just wanted to point out there is some non-observational evidence. Moderate-dose Regular Lifelong Alcohol Intake Changes the Intestinal Flora, Protects against Aging, and Keeps Spatial Memory in the Senescence-accelerated Mouse Prone 8 (SAMP8) Model. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28057167 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28057167

gwern 10y ago
There's much better research than that. Try "Effects of Initiating Moderate Alcohol Intake on Cardiometabolic Risk in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: A 2-Year Randomized, Controlled Trial" https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yftach_Gepner/publication/282813162_Effects_of_Initiating_Moderate_Alcohol_Intake_on_Cardiometabolic_Risk_in_Adults_With_Type_2_Diabetes_A_2-Year_Randomized_Controlled_Trial/links/56d9f74a08aebe4638bb9d76.pdf https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yftach_Gepner/publicati... , Gepner et al 2015
- DrScump 10y ago
  Wow, this is really interesting (at my quick glance). I'm concerned that they don't state that they clearly isolated to what degree the alcohol vs. other compounds specific to wine had which effects.
- JamesBarney 10y ago
  Thanks that is indeed far better research. Do you have any tips on finding good research quickly? Is it just getting more familiar with the pubmed filters?

kochthesecond 10y ago

Feynman actually has a good piece on "science" like this.