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Increased alcohol intake was linked to less grey matter in the brain, more fat in the liver and a larger mass in the left ventricle of the heart, said a study led by Imperial College London
It suggests those who try to drink responsibly, below 14 units a week – the equivalent of six medium glasses of wine – still damage their bodies.
Professor Paul Elliott, from the UK Dementia Research Institute at Imperial, said: ‘We recommend current health guidelines are reconsidered.’
Professor Paul Matthews, co-author of the study published in the journal eLife, said: ‘This study graphically highlights harmful effects of alcohol even when consumed in moderation.’
Abstract
Surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic has mainly relied on case reporting which is biased by health service performance, test availability and test-seeking behaviors. We report a community-wide national representative surveillance program in England involving self-administered swab results from 594,000 individuals tested for SARS-CoV-2, regardless of symptoms, from May to beginning of September 2020. The epidemic declined between May and July 2020 but then increased gradually from mid-August, accelerating into early September 2020 at the start of the second wave. When compared to cases detected through routine surveillance, we report here a longer period of decline and a younger age distribution. Representative community sampling for SARS-CoV-2 can substantially improve situational awareness and feed into the public health response even at low prevalence.