New study on alcohol’s health effects is discouraging

“We found no beneficial effects in adults who drank little alcohol compared to those who didn’t,” senior study author Dr. Marco Vincheti, professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, said in a statement. Italy.

As CNN notes, the study found that alcohol’s negative impact on systolic blood pressure continued to rise over the years, even in men and women who drank little every day. Small amounts of alcohol also increased lower, or diastolic, blood pressure, but only in men, according to a study published today in the journal Hypertension.

“Both systolic and diastolic rates contribute to (cardiovascular) risk and go hand in hand, but of the two, systolic blood pressure is by far the most important risk factor in adults,” said study co-author Dr. Paul Welton, chair of the study. Global Public Health at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. in New Orleans and President of the World Hypertension League.

Blood pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (abbreviated as mmHg) and is written as two numbers, one above the other, reminiscent of CNN. According to the American Heart Association, the upper or systolic value, which reflects the force of blood pressure on the walls of the arteries when the heart beats, is considered “a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease in people over 50 years of age.” The lower diastolic value measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart muscle is resting between beats.

Normal systolic pressure is usually 120 mm Hg. or lower, but tends to rise as blood vessels weaken and constrict with age. Normal diastolic blood pressure is below 80 mmHg but begins to decline with age as the arteries lose their elasticity and become stiff, sometimes resulting in an increased heart rate.

“Alcohol is certainly not the only cause of high blood pressure; however, our results confirm that it makes a significant contribution, says Marco Vincheti. “It is recommended to limit alcohol consumption, and even better avoid it.”

The idea that heavy drinking raises blood pressure has been around for a long time, says Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular disease prevention and wellness at the National Jewish Health Center in Denver.

“However, this review showed that relatively low levels of alcohol also affect blood pressure,” says Dr. Freeman, who was not involved in the study. “So, for me, this is another study showing that there may not be a safe amount of alcohol.”

The review analyzed data from seven studies conducted in Japan, South Korea, and the United States between 1997 and 2021. The study included more than 19,000 adults aged 20 to about 70 who had no prior diagnosis of alcoholism, binge drinking, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or liver disease over an average five-year time frame.

At the start of the studies, all participants were asked about their typical alcohol intake, which was converted to grams of alcohol to avoid differences between countries in what constitutes a “standard drink”. The World Health Organization, for example, sets a standard of 10 grams of alcohol per drink, while the US defines it as 14 grams.

“In the US, you probably drink more than one standard drink a day,” says Welton. “If you’re served 14 grams of wine at a restaurant, you’ll want to tell your waiter, ‘You’re a cheapskate, come back and have a real glass of wine.’ We think we’re having one standard drink, but we’re not.”

The researchers used the statistics to plot the effect of different amounts of alcohol on blood pressure over time. Drinking an average of 12 grams of alcohol per day, or less than one standard drink in the US, resulted in a slight increase in systolic pressure of 1.25 mmHg. Art. an average of five years, notes CNN.

“We were somewhat surprised to see that consumption of already low levels of alcohol was also associated with higher changes in blood pressure over time compared to no consumption – albeit much less than the increase in blood pressure seen in heavy drinkers,” says Dr. Vincheti.

In people who consumed an average of 48 grams of alcohol per day, or almost 3.5 standard drinks in the US, systolic blood pressure increased by almost 5 mmHg. Art. over the same time period compared to those who did not drink alcohol.

“This will certainly take you from pre-hypertensive to hypertensive, just like eating too much sodium, too few fruits and vegetables, and not being physically active will push you in the wrong direction,” Welton said.

Another finding, Welton said, was that the effect of alcohol on blood pressure was even more significant if a person’s levels were already on the rise when the study began.

“This suggests that people with a tendency to high blood pressure may benefit the most from low or no alcohol consumption,” he said.

How do these study results fit in with previous studies that have shown that alcohol can be good for the heart? First, according to Welton, many of the old randomized clinical trials compared only those who drank lightly with those who drank heavily, and not with those who did not drink at all.

“What we typically see in clinical trials is that drinkers are randomized to lower amounts of alcohol, such as light beer, compared to continuing to drink as usual. And, of course, those who consumed small to moderate amounts of alcohol had better outcomes,” said Paul Welton, who co-authored a meta-analysis of such studies.

“In terms of blood pressure, I think most people would agree that there is no level at which alcohol is safe,” he added. “From a cardiovascular point of view, you can have mixed opinions.”

According to Andrew Freeman, studying alcohol use is difficult because it is associated with behaviors that may or may not be helpful.

“If you’re drinking at night in a smoky bar with friends, secondhand smoke and alcohol will certainly disrupt your sleep, both of which are unhealthy,” he said. “But you also benefit from socialization.”

Studies of the Blue Zones, areas of the world where people typically live to be 100 years of age or older, have shown that diets in these areas often include small amounts of alcohol, usually consumed with dinner.

“Sometimes it can be difficult to identify these associations,” admits Dr. Freeman. “First of all, I don’t recommend people start drinking,” he said. “If they do drink, they should try to really keep it to a minimum and then do their best to maintain healthy lifestyles that help the heart, such as exercise and stress reduction. Exercise is an amazingly effective way to lower blood pressure, both systolic and diastolic, as it helps the heart to relax and maintain a higher working capacity.”