European Alcohol Consumption Trends Remain Steady, Study Confirms

A recent study published in the journal Addiction confirms that alcohol consumption patterns in Europe continue to follow historical trends. The study's findings highlight that Mediterranean countries remain the primary consumers of wine, while Northern and Central Europeans prefer beer.

The study reveals that countries with the highest consumption of spirits, such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Cyprus, exhibit the highest rates of alcohol-attributable deaths and health issues. In contrast, those that consume lower levels of spirits and moderate amounts of wine, like France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, and Sweden, show the lowest rates of alcohol-related deaths.

High levels of beer consumption are observed in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. On the other hand, countries with the highest levels of lifetime abstinence include Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Cyprus, which also have the lowest prevalence of drinkers. However, those who do consume alcohol in these regions tend to drink spirits frequently and in large quantities.

The study also notes that countries with the highest prevalence of current drinking and episodes of binge drinking include Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Malta. Looking back almost 20 years, the general groupings have remained consistent from 2000 to 2019, with two-thirds of the countries staying in the same group across all measurements.

Dr. Jürgen Rehm, a co-author of the study, commented, "Europe's drinking patterns appear deeply ingrained in culture and are thus difficult to change." The report concludes that "drinking patterns in Europe seem to cluster according to specific beverage consumption levels, with heavy episodic drinkers, current drinkers, and lifetime abstainers as distinguishing factors among the groups."

The study also emphasizes the stability of these patterns over time, though some countries have changed patterns between 2000 and 2019. Overall, drinking patterns in the European Union seem stable and partly determined by geographic proximity.

Regarding the Mediterranean diet, these findings reaffirm the importance of wine within this dietary pattern, known for its association with high life expectancy in Southern Mediterranean countries. Previously, scientists have noted that the Mediterranean diet loses up to 23.5% of its protective effect if wine is excluded. Traditionally, in addition to the protective impact of red wine consumption, the diet includes fish, olive oil, and a focus on fresh ingredients rather than processed products.

Compounds found in grape skins, known as polyphenols, which are also present in fruits, vegetables, and other herbs and spices, act as antioxidants, preventing cardiovascular diseases and even some types of cancer.

In January, a new study titled "Should We Eliminate Wine from the Mediterranean Diet?" was announced as a starting point for a four-year research project funded by the European Research Council. This study will involve 10,000 Spaniards aged between 50 and 75 years and will evaluate the impact of moderate wine consumption on heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

Besides the Mediterranean diet, the "French Paradox" was highlighted in this latest study, initially brought to prominence in a famous 60 Minutes television segment by scientist Serge Renaud. Renaud initiated much of the research on the health benefits of red wine consumption and its ability to help prevent various heart diseases, a notion he attributed to his upbringing in Bordeaux.

Renaud remarked on his work, "If I hadn't lived with my grandparents and great-grandparents in a vineyard near Bordeaux, this idea might not have occurred to me. When you see people reaching 80 or 90 years old, who have been drinking small amounts of wine every day, you don't believe that wine in low doses is harmful."