Summary of findings 3. Effect of low‐dose alcohol compared to placebo.

Effect of low‐dose alcohol compared to placebo
Patient or population: adult participants Setting: ambulatory Intervention: low‐dose alcohol (≥ 14 g) Comparison: placebo
Outcomes	Participants (RCTs)	Certainty of the evidence (GRADE)	Mean difference of low‐dose alcohol compared to placebo* (95% CI)
Systolic blood pressure ‐ ≤ 6 hours	28 (2)	⊕⊕⊝⊝ Lowa,b	‐1.9 mmHg [‐8.4 to 5.4]
Diastolic blood pressure ‐ ≤ 6 hours	28 (2 )	⊕⊕⊝⊝ Lowa,b	‐1.5 mmHg [‐6.9 to 4]
Heart rate ‐ ≤ 6 hours	28 (2)	⊕⊕⊕⊝ Moderatea	5.1 bpm [1.88 higher to 8.24]
* The risk in the intervention group (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI). CI: confidence interval; RCT: randomised controlled trial.
GRADE Working Group grades of evidence. High certainty: we are very confident that the true effect lies close to that of the estimate of the effect. Moderate certainty: we are moderately confident in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be close to the estimate of the effect, but there is a possibility that it is substantially different. Low certainty: our confidence in the effect estimate is limited: the true effect may be substantially different from the estimate of the effect. Very low certainty: we have very little confidence in the effect estimate: the true effect is likely to be substantially different from the estimate of effect.

^aUnclear risk of selection bias.

^b95% confidence interval around the best effect estimate includes both negligible effect and appreciable benefit.