HIQA has published two reports to support an update to Ireland’s low-risk alcohol guidelines. This work was requested by the Department of Health and will be used to inform an update to the guidelines.
The first reports models the risk of death and admission to hospital due to alcohol consumption, using Irish mortality, hospital admission, and alcohol consumption data to characterise the risks at different levels of alcohol consumption. Between 2022 and 2024 in Ireland, alcohol was estimated to account for an average of 1,420 deaths and 27,066 hospital admissions each year.
Ireland’s low-risk alcohol guidelines were last revised in 2015. The new report found that the risk of death before age 75, death at any age, years of life lost, and the rate of hospital admissions all grew in line with increasing alcohol consumption. A substantial amount of risk occurred among people drinking lower levels of alcohol, indicating that Irish low-risk alcohol guidelines may need to be reconsidered to accurately highlight the risk at lower levels of alcohol consumption.
The estimated difference in risk between sexes was minimal, suggesting that there is no strong basis for sex-specific thresholds and it also found that concentrated levels of drinking across fewer days of the week brings higher risk.
The second HIQA report is a systematic review of international evidence on the association between alcohol consumption and mental health. This review examined 104 international studies on the link between alcohol and the presence of, or later development of, mental health outcomes. Overall, mixed results of an association between alcohol consumption and mental health outcomes were observed.
Defining risk thresholds for alcohol consumption requires a judgement by guideline developers. The modelling carried out by HIQA provides a quantitative evidence base to inform that judgement.
