Work

Short‐ and medium‐term effects of light to moderate alcohol intake on glycaemic control in diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized trials

Year: 2016

Type: review

Study designs: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis

Abstract: Background People with diabetes are told that drinking alcohol may increase their risk of hypoglycaemia. Aims To report the effects of alcohol consumption on glycaemic control in people with diabetes mellitus. Methods Medline, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library databases were searched in 2015 to identify randomized trials that compared alcohol consumption with no alcohol use, reporting glycaemic control in people with diabetes. Data on blood glucose, HbA1c and numbers of hypoglycaemic episodes were pooled using random effects meta‐analysis. Results Pooled data from nine short‐term studies showed no difference in blood glucose concentrations between those who drank alcohol in doses of 16–80 g (median 20 g, 2.5 units) compared with those who did not drink alcohol at 0.5, 2, 4 and 24 h after alcohol consumption. Pooled data from five medium‐term studies showed that there was no difference in blood glucose or HbA1c concentrations at the end of the study between those who drank 11–18 g alcohol/day (median 13 g/day, 1.5 units/day) for 4–104 weeks and those who did not. We found no evidence of a difference in number of hypoglycaemic episodes or in withdrawal rates between randomized groups. Conclusions Studies to date have not provided evidence that drinking light to moderate amounts of alcohol, with or without a meal, affects any measure of glycaemic control in people with Type 2 diabetes. These results suggest that current advice that people with diabetes do not need to refrain from drinking moderate quantities of alcohol does not need to be changed; risks to those with Type 1 diabetes remain uncertain.

Source: Diabetic Medicine

DOI: 10.1111/dme.13259

Authors: J. A. Hirst, J. K. Aronson, B. G. Feakins, C. Ma, A. J. Farmer, R. J. Stevens

Institutions: University of Oxford, National Institute for Health and Care Research

Language: English

Topic: Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects

Subfield: Pathology and Forensic Medicine

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institute for Health and Care Research, NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre