The Short-Term Health Effects of Dealcoholised Red Wine: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Health benefits of red wine are claimed and attributed to its high polyphenol content, but these claims are controversial due to the array of known alcohol-related harms. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify whether there are health benefits of dealcoholised red wine.

We searched PubMed, Embase, Scopus, PsycINFO and Web of Science for randomised controlled or cross-over trials. Comparisons analysed were: (i) dealcoholised red wine versus red wine; and (ii) dealcoholised red wine versus water. Health outcomes included serum/plasma antioxidant capacity, cardiovascular function, immune function, liver function, metabolism, microbiome diversity and inflammatory markers. Random effects meta-analyses were performed to estimate standardised mean differences (SMD = d).

From 865 identified records, we included 36 studies. Dealcoholised red wine was associated with increased serum/plasma antioxidant capacity (d = 0.72; 95% CI [0.42, 1.01]) and microbiome diversity (d = 0.63 [0.32, 0.93]) compared to water, but has less effect on microbiome diversity (d = -0.32 [-0.52, -0.11]) compared to red wine. No significant differences were observed in other health outcomes.

Dealcoholised red wine may have some short-term health benefits, but there is uncertainty on long-term population-level impacts; therefore, the precautionary principle should be applied.

Dealcoholised red wine may have some short-term health benefits in increasing serum/plasma antioxidant capacity and microbiome diversity, but the evidence is limited by small sample size, short-term follow-up, and heterogeneous studies. These data do not support a rationale for drinking red wine for purported health benefits due to the known long-term health harms of alcohol consumption.