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Moderate drinking and heart
health
Reported November 23, 2009
Yet another study has shown that long-term moderate drinking of alcohol may
decrease the risk of heart disease in men by up to one-third. It also
decreases the risk — less often — in women.
Many of my friends are interested in such studies and it may be a topic of
conversation at upcoming parties and get-togethers.
The news was published over the weekend in Heart, the Journal of the British
Cardiovascular Society. The study was done in Spain and used 10-year data on
15,500 men and nearly 26,000 women who were participants in the European
Prospective Investigation into Cancer study. It came my way via an e-mail
from Dr. Raymond Scalettar, the medical chairman of the Distilled Spirits
Council, Washington, D.C., and former chair of the American Medical
Association.
Researchers did not find differences in the type of alcohol consumed: Beer,
wine or spirits. In men, there was a point when the coronary benefits of
alcohol declined and risks started to rise again.
The rate of heart disease in non-drinking women was 56 for each 100,000
individuals. For those who are light drinkers, it was 42; moderate drinkers,
36, and high or heavy drinkers, 12. Researchers said the results for women
were not statistically significant, probably because the numbers were too
small in many categories.
In men, the rate for non-drinkers was 398 per 100,000; it was 318 for light
drinkers, 255 for moderate drinkers, 278 for high drinkers and 334 for heavy
drinkers.
An American researcher, Eric Rimm, associate professor of epidemiology and
nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, said this is one of 60-70
studies done around the world with the same basic results.
The American Heart Association guideline is that it is okay to drink, if
it’s done in moderation. That’s 1-2 drinks a day for men, and one drink a
day for women.
A drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine or 1 ounce of
100-proof spirits.
Source : The Quad-City Times |
