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Could moderate drinking lower heart disease risk?

Monday 27th March 2017
A new study has explored in detail how different levels of alcohol consumption affect cardiovascular health. Image: alex_ugalek via iStock
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Excessive alcohol consumption is known to be associated with an increase in cardiovascular disease risk, but the results of a new study suggest that moderate drinking may be better for the heart over the long term than abstaining from alcohol altogether.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge and University College London analysed the health records of 1.93 million adults, focusing on whether there was a link between alcohol consumption and heart disease onset.

None of the participants had heart disease at the start of the study and it was found that those who drank moderately - defined as consuming no more than 14 units of alcohol per week - were significantly less likely than both teetotallers and excessive drinkers to require treatment for certain cardiovascular conditions. These included angina, heart failure and ischaemic stroke, but there were still some heart problems that were exacerbated by even moderate drinking.

As a result, experts recommend that people remain mindful of their alcohol intake, as the findings of this research do not mean that individuals should increase their drinking to prevent themselves developing heart disease. Instead, they need to make sure they are not going over the recommended weekly unit allowance of 14 per person.

According to NHS Choices, there is one unit of alcohol in a pint of beer or cider, as well as in a 25 ml measure of spirits such as vodka and gin. Meanwhile, a small 125 ml glass of wine contains roughly one-and-a-half units.

Interestingly, the researchers also found that the heaviest drinkers they analysed were at greater risk than moderate drinkers of heart failure and ischaemic stroke, but their risk of suffering a heart attack or angina was actually lower, indicating that further investigation is needed into the reasons behind this.

Commenting on the study, scientists at Harvard Medical School and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health said that this work "sets the stage for ever larger and more sophisticated studies that will attempt to harness the flood of big data into a stream of useful, reliable and unbiased findings that can inform public health, clinical care and the direction of future research".

Written by Mathew Horton

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