Johns Hopkins alcohol study draws criticism

Johns Hopkins researchers are moving forward with an international study that will look at whether one drink of alcohol a day can decrease the risk of heart disease and diabetes despite criticism that it is funded by the liquor industry.

A New York Times investigation found that the 10-year government trial is funded mostly by Anheuser-Busch InBev, Heineken and other alcohol companies through donations to a private foundation that raises money for the National Institutes of Health.

The story reported that investigators from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, one of 27 centers under the NIH, “waged a vigorous campaign to court the alcohol industry, paying for scientists to travel to meetings with executives, where they gave talks strongly suggesting that the study’s results would endorse moderate drinking as healthy.”

It raises the question of whether the research may be inherently biased because of how it’s being funded.

Johns Hopkins Medicine officials said in a statement that the medical institution has policies against interacting with industry and other parties that may pose a financial conflict of interest in research. The policies are intended to safeguard public trust and comply with government regulations.

“The grant funding came directly to Johns Hopkins from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to conduct independent research examining whether moderate alcohol consumption impacts human health,” the statement said. “The multi-center study’s design was rigorously vetted through internal and external scientific review boards without any involvement from private industry. The resulting findings will provide much needed data to address the study question.”

Johns Hopkins Medicine is one of 16 institutions participating in The Moderate Alcohol and Cardiovascular Health Trial, or MACH 15, according to a website and recruiting brochure the medical institution mailed to potential participants. Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the University of Copenhagen are among the other institutes.

In Baltimore, the research will be done through the Johns Hopkins ProHealth Clinical Research Center on Gwynn Oak Avenue in Baltimore.

Researchers have begun recruiting candidates for the $100 million study.