ISFAR critiques review for Dietary Guidelines for Australians

ISFAR, the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research, has published its response to the alcohol chapter of the literature review to support the revision of the Dietary Guidelines for Australians. It offered a general forum comment and 10 specific comments.

In 2008, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) commissioned the Dieticians Association of Australia to undertake systematic literature reviews to support the revision of the Dietary Guidelines for Australians. The primary aim was to review the national and international literature from 2002 on the interrelationship of diet and health for different population subgroups. One of the 29 sections covered the evidence for the risks and benefits of alcohol drinking; this is the section to which ISFAR responded.

On the whole, ISFAR’s response was positive. ISFAR commended the guidelines’ authors on their work and “on adopting a balanced view toward alcohol by considering both positive and negative health effects of alcohol”. Negative comments related to the authors’ methodologies, such as the restricted time frame of the literature and the review of that literature; the authors making statements based on weak evidence; and minimal consideration of key nuances.

One of ISFAR’s repeated comments was that the review studied literature mostly from 2002 to 2009, as most of the research was conducted prior to 2009. ISFAR commented that the review “has ignored seminal studies from outside that time frame that alter the quality of evidence grade and evidence statement”.

Public consultation on the draft Australian Dietary Guidelines closes at 5 pm on Wednesday, 29 February. To make a submission, go to the NHMRC website.