In Spain, the largest randomized controlled study on the effects of moderate wine consumption on many diseases as well as overall mortality begins. According to study leader Miguel Martinez-Gonzalez, a professor of public health at the University of Navarra, 10,000 participants will take part, supervised by around 500 doctors in Spain. The research protocol stipulates that one participant group completely abstains from alcohol, while the other consumes at least three glasses per week – preferably red wine. The allocation to the two groups is done randomly. "This is exactly the reference method in medicine to determine the effect of a new drug. It is, so to speak, the 'last word' one can get in medicine," says Martinez-Gonzalez. According to him, the largest comparable study to date included only 224 individuals and examined only abstinent individuals.

Only women aged 55 to 75 and men aged 50 to 70 will participate. "Age is a major contentious issue in researching the effects of alcohol on health," explains Martinez-Gonzalez. "In public health, there is a broad consensus that a zero-alcohol policy is the healthiest option for people under 35 or 40 years. But for individuals at increased risk for cardiovascular diseases, heart attacks, strokes, or diabetes, the balance between abstinence and moderate consumption is less clear. This is exactly the balance we want to explore." He responds to the increasing questioning of the previously often emphasized health benefits of moderate consumption. "Why is it now claimed that alcohol is harmful from the first drop without presenting new evidence?"

The study is not funded by the alcohol industry but independently through exclusively state and European budgets. It receives 2.5 million euros from the European Research Council. Further institutional funding is expected from Spain and the USA. The Spanish medical team is supported by specialists from the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany, and Israel.

The results are expected by the end of 2028 or early 2029. Martinez-Gonzalez, who has already led large-scale randomized studies on the Mediterranean diet, remains completely neutral regarding the possible outcome. "I am not betting on any hypothesis. I strive to conduct the study as rigorously and thoughtfully as possible – with the best researchers in the world. Never before have so many data on the health effects of alcohol been collected in one place. The result could show that it is better to completely abstain from alcohol, or that one to two glasses of wine per day with meals is the best option – or that both are equally valid. Then people could decide freely."

(al / Source: vitisphere)

More on the topic:

Moderate alcohol consumption protects the cardiovascular system

Risks of moderate alcohol consumption "completely exaggerated"

How an abstinence movement shapes WHO alcohol policy – Movendi and the "zero-permil" recommendation