These and other problems have long been recognized [233-235], but are still overlooked in much of the relevant research. In addition, measurement of alcohol consumption is not always in line with theoretical assumptions. For example, studies postulating accumulated volume as causally relevant for the disease outcome assess average volume of alcohol at baseline only and do not include measures of alcohol consumption during the theoretically relevant time period (e.g. cumulated alcohol intake in the 6 years before the outcome as a relevant period for some cancers). Similarly, studies postulating blood alcohol concentration (BAC) as a causally relevant measure often measured usual alcohol consumption but not quantity of alcohol consumed at the specific occasion of incidence.
