Moderate drinking associated with lower risk of heart disease

Unstable drinking patterns may be associated with a higher risk of heart disease and consistent moderate drinking may have a cardioprotective effect, according to research led by UCL. In this meta-analysis study, published in BMC Medicine, researchers from UCL and the University of Cambridge examined longitudinal data on 35,132 individuals. The study found that compared to individuals who consistently followed UK sensible drinking guidelines over a period of ten years, those who inconsistently drank in moderation, those who had stopped drinking (former drinkers) and those who reported no drinking had a higher risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), although the effect observed in non-drinkers may be confined to women. Dr Dara O'Neill (UCL Institute of Education) who led the research said, "This study uses long-term data to distinguish between persistent non-drinkers and former drinkers, allowing us to test the established theory that only the latter have an elevated risk of CHD. We did not find this to be the case but we did observe a sex-related difference. Amongst consistent non-drinkers, women showed higher risk of developing CHD compared to consistently moderate drinkers, but their male counterparts did not." Overall, 1,718 (4.9%) out of the 35,132 individuals included in the six cohorts that were examined in this study developed CHD during the study period, of which 325 (0.9%) were fatal CHD events. Observed CHD incidence was highest for former drinkers, 6.1% of whom experienced a CHD event of which 1.2% were fatal, and lowest for consistently heavy drinkers, 3.8% of whom experienced a CHD event of which 0.6% were fatal.