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OBJECTIVE: This meta-analysis was undertaken to obtain insight regarding the shape and strength of the relationship between alcohol consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes, the effects of adjustment for confounders, and the effect of modification by type 2 diabetes definition, sex, and BMI. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The 15 original prospective cohort studies that were included comprise 11,959 incident cases of type 2 diabetes in 369,862 individuals who, on average, were followed for 12 years. RESULTS: After pooling the data, a U-shaped relationship was found. Compared with nonconsumers, the relative risk (RR) for type 2 diabetes in those who consumed /=48 g/day) was equal to that in nonconsumers (1.04 0.84-1.29). In general, nonsignificant trends for larger RR reduction associated with moderate alcohol consumption were observed for women compared with men, for crude compared with multivariate-adjusted analyses, and for studies that used self-reports instead of testing for type 2 diabetes definition. No differences in RR reductions were found between individuals with low or high BMI. CONCLUSIONS: The present evidence from observational studies suggests an approximately 30% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes in moderate alcohol consumers, whereas no risk reduction is observed in consumers of >/=48 g/day.
Koppes et al. (Tue,) studied this question.