The Heart-Healthy Benefits of Moderate Alcohol Consumption

In that previous studies have suggested that alcohol consumption associates with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, Kenneth J. Mukamal, from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Massachusetts, USA), and colleagues investigated this effect on a broad scale.  Analyzing data involving 245,207 adults collected during nine iterations of the National Health Interview Survey, researchers found that light (three or fewer drinks per week) drinkers were at 31% lower risk of death due to heart disease (compared to abstainers, defined as never drinkers, lifetime infrequent drinkers, or former drinkers).  Moderate drinkers (women consuming four to seven drinks per week, and men consuming four to 14 drinks per week) were at a 38%5 lower death risk.  The researchers also point out that drinking above the light-to-moderate levels eliminated any risk reduction whatsoever.  The team concludes that: “In 9 nationally representative samples of U.S. adults, light and moderate alcohol consumption were inversely associated with [cardiovascular disease] mortality, even when compared with lifetime abstainers.”