Alcohol consumption should be limited to less than 10 standard drinks per week to lower the risk of premature death, new research suggests.
This is significantly less than the 'two-a-day' currently recommended under the national alcohol consumption guidelines.
A landmark study, published in The Lancet, found drinking more than 100g of alcohol per week lowered people's life expectancy at age 40 by between six months to five years.
The more people drank, the higher the risk of a range of life-threatening illnesses, including stroke and heart failure, according to the analysis of nearly 600,000 drinkers from across the globe.
"The key message of this research for public health is that, if you already drink alcohol, drinking less may help you live longer and lower your risk of several cardiovascular conditions," said lead author Dr Angela Wood, University of Cambridge.
A team of international researchers analysed data taken from 83 studies in 19 high-income countries. The researchers also had access to data on participants' age, sex, history of diabetes, smoking status and several other factors known to be related to cardiovascular disease. None of the participants had a known history of cardiovascular disease.
The study included data from 599,912 current drinkers. About 50 per cent reported drinking more than 100 g/week, and 8.4 per cent drank more than 350 g/week.
The study found an increase in all causes of death among those who consumed more than 100 grams of alcohol per week, supporting calls to reduce alcohol consumption limits.
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) said on Friday that the Australian guidelines on alcohol consumption were currently under review.
"Evidence reviews on the health effects of alcohol consumption are currently underway, which will help inform the recommendations in the revised guidelines. Until then, the 2009 Alcohol Guidelines remain NHMRC's current advice," a NHMRC statement said.
