new delhi while moderate alcohol consumption may accord some health benefits to older adults for young people its only a health risk according to a new analysis published in the lancet medical journalthe analysis based on alcohol consumption data collected from 204 countries that are part of the global burden of disease study estimates that 1 34 billion people consumed harmful amounts of alcohol 1 03 billion males and 0 312 billion females in 2020it suggests that for young adults in the 1539 age bracket there are no health benefits of drinking alcohol but only health risks according to the analysis among individuals consuming harmful amounts of alcohol in 2020 59 1 were in this age group and 76 7 were malehowever adults aged 40 and above without underlying health conditions may see some benefits from small alcohol consumption between one and two standard pegs per day including a reduced risk in cardiovascular disease stroke and diabetesthe analysis shows that in every region the largest segment of the population drinking unsafe amounts of alcohol were males aged 1539 with 60 of alcoholrelated injuries occurring in this age group including motor vehicle accidents suicides and homicidesresearchers suggested that global alcohol consumption recommendations should be based on age and location with the strictest guidelines targeted toward males be tween ages 1539 who are at the greatest risk of harmful liquor consumption worldwideour 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 its important to communicate the latest evidence so that everyone can make informed decisions about their health says senior author dr emmanuela gakidou professor of health metrics sciences at the institute for health metrics and evaluation ihme at the university of washingtons school of medicinealthough the risks associated with alcohol consumption are similar for males and females young males stood out as the group with the highest level of harmful alcohol consumption this is because a larger proportion of males compared to females consume alcohol and their average level of consumption is also significantly higher says dr gakidou