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
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, HbA 1c 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 HbA 1c 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.
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Intervention studies about the effects of reductions in the consumption of alcohol on glucose and insulin biomarkers in people with and without diabetes showed mixed results.
“Also, intervention studies about the effects of reductions in the consumption of alcohol on glucose and insulin biomarkers in people with and without diabetes showed mixed results 194, 195.”
From The relationship between different dimensions of alcohol use and the burden of disease—an update (2017) · cites this paper as [195]
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The relationship between different dimensions of alcohol use and the burden of disease—an update
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- Authors
- Hirst, J. A., Aronson, J. K., Feakins, B. G., Ma, C., Farmer, A. J., & Stevens, R. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Oxford (GB)
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (GB)
- Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences University of Oxford Oxford UK
- Corresponding author
- Hirst, J. A.
- Venue
- Diabetic Medicine
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2016-10-13
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 604-611
- ISSN
- 0742-3071 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-5491
- OpenAlex
- W2515075136
- Cited by
- 42
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 3
- FWCI
- 0.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Diabetic Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (NF-SI-0512-10077)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Management and Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Treatment and Management
- Keywords
- alcohol consumption, glycemic control, diabetes mellitus, type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes, hypoglycemia, HbA1c, blood glucose, alcohol withdrawal
- MeSH terms
- Alcohol Drinking, Alcohols, Blood Glucose, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Humans, Time Factors, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
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