Introduction There is a substantial literature finding that moderate alcohol consumption is
protective against certain health conditions. However, more recent research has highlighted
the possibility that these findings are methodological artefacts, caused by confounding and
other biases. While modern analytical and study design approaches can mitigate
confounding and thus enhance causal inference in observational studies, they are not
routinely applied in research assessing the relationship between alcohol use and long-term …

Background Research has long found 'J-shaped'relationships between alcohol consumption
and certain health outcomes, indicating a protective effect of moderate consumption.
However, methodological limitations in most studies hinder causal inference. This review
aimed to identify all observational studies employing improved approaches to mitigate
confounding in characterizing alcohol–long-term health relationships, and to qualitatively
synthesize their findings. Methods Eligible studies met the above description, were …