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A new study published in The Lancet found that there are no health benefits to drinking alcohol for people under the age of 40. Researchers poured over 30 years of data on people ages 15 to 95 from 204 countries and found that young people, especially men between the ages of 15 and 39, have higher health risks when consuming alcohol compared to their older peers.
In addition to providing no discernable health benefits, the researchers found that younger men were more likely to be injured, involved in an auto accident, or the victim of a homicide when drinking.
"Our message is simple: young people should not drink, but older people may benefit from drinking small amounts. While it may not be realistic to think young adults will abstain from drinking, we do think it's important to communicate the latest evidence so that everyone can make informed decisions about their health," senior author Emmanuela Gakidou, professor of Health Metrics Sciences at the University of Washington's School of Medicine, said in a press release.
The study did find that drinking a small amount of alcohol can provide health benefits to people over 40 years old. Those benefits include a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes.
"Those diseases just happen to be major causes of death in a good chunk of the world," Gakidou said. "So when you look at the cumulative health impact, particularly among older adults, it shows that a small amount is actually better for you than no drinking. For all other causes, it's harmful at all levels of consumption."