Alcohol and reflux - the evidence

There is actually remarkably little concrete evidence that alcohol is a cause of reflux despite this forming a part of many lifestyle advice sheets. It is known that patients who drink alcohol to excess have an increased risk of oesophageal cancer (for which reflux is the major risk factor). An excess of hard liquor especially predisposes patients with head and neck cancers to an oesophageal cancer. On the other hand a Japanese study suggested that the amount of alcohol, rather than the type, was more important is increasing the cancer risk.

There is some evidence that alcohol reduces lower oesophageal sphincter pressure and thus predisposes to reflux episodes. There is a direct effect as well as low alcohol doses accelerate gastric emptying, whereas high doses delay emptying and slow bowel motility.