LAUSR

We thank doctors Gow, Testro, Hey, and Sinclair for their interest in our study and for sharing their views on the potential benefits of alcohol. Indeed, we found an association between light alcohol use and reduced all-cause mortality and reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in never smokers with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (1). However, this observation does not necessarily translate into a benefit of alcohol as a therapeutic approach in (CVD) prevention, mainly because of potential residual confounding from, for instance, an imbalance in dietary patterns between light drinkers and abstainers.