Research reveals that drinking this type of alcohol is supposed to protect against coronavirus infection: Explanation of the epidemiologist – Topky.sk

A Chinese study published last month in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition found that drinking red wine was associated with a reduced risk of coronavirus infection. However, Hassan Vally, a professor at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, has a different view. According to him, this work is a great example of why many studies dealing with diet and health are unreliable and need to be interpreted with caution. “The limitations in the way many of these researches are done are the reason why we often hear that one day some food is good for us and then it is refuted in another study.” Vally, an epidemiologist and infectologist, said in an article published in the journal The Conversation.

He further revealed some of the reasons why the findings of this study may be misleading. “Probably the most compelling in terms of media was that drinking one to four glasses of red wine a week was associated with about a 10 percent reduction in COVID-19 disease. Drinking five or more glasses of red wine a week was associated with a 17 percent reduction in risk.” he explained. The effect was smaller when drinking white wine and champagne. In contrast, drinking beer was associated with a seven to 28 percent increase in covid risk. Spirits have also been found to increase the risk of the disease. While drinking more small amounts of alcohol is associated with a lower risk, drinking more alcohol has been associated with an increased risk of infection.

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Correlation does not equal causality

“The first and most obvious reason to be careful in interpreting this study is a correlation that does not equal a causal relationship.” Vally said. According to him, it is important to distinguish between two variables, which are simply interconnected and one causes the other. The epidemiologist explained that the analysis was completed from data collected from a large longitudinal study, one in which experts search for participants and monitor them over time to obtain information about their behavior and health. Data for the research came from the UK Biobank’s biomedical database. As this was an observational study that collected and analyzed data from normal living people, it can be said with certainty that drinking red wine was associated with a lower probability of being diagnosed with COVID-19. But that does not mean that it is a causal link.

It is quite possible that this connection reflects other differences between people who drink red wine and those who have overcome covid. This phenomenon is called “confusion”. It is very difficult to completely eliminate its effect in observational studies. “Although the researchers tried to statistically adjust the results to take into account some of the obvious ‘confusing’ factors in this study, such as age, gender, and level of education, this type of adjustment is not perfect.” thinks an Australian expert.

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Alcohol data are unreliable

There are two main limitations in the data collected on alcohol consumption patterns. The first is to gather information about what people eat and drink. Such information is notoriously unreliable. The second major limitation was that the researchers collected data on alcohol patterns at the beginning of this long-term study and evaluated them many years later when they completed the analysis. This means that they initially focused on drinking and assumed that people had the same drinking regimens throughout the research. “Obviously, a person’s drinking regime can change significantly over the years, so it also brings a lot of potential mistakes.” Vally warned.

The importance for public health is questionable

Given the enormous benefits that can be gained from other measures such as masking, social separation, better hand hygiene and vaccinations, this risk reduction is (if real) marginal and does not provide any significant protection against COVID-19, Valley concluded. “The reality is that drinking red wine solely to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection is not something that can be recommended based on this study, especially given the other potentially harmful effects of drinking alcohol.” he added.