Moderate drinking is linked to reduced risk of many kinds of cardiovascular disease, according to a major UK analysis published today.
The research, involving the analysis of nearly two million health records, is the latest attempt to pin down reported links between alcohol use and health of the heart and circulation.
Researchers studied 12 forms of cardiovascular disease and linked moderate drinking to a reduced risk of seven of them compared with abstention.
These were unstable angina, myocardial infarction, unheralded coronary death, heart failure, ischaemic stroke, peripheral arterial disease and abdominal aortic aneurysm. There was no link with intracerebral and subarachnoid haemorrhage.
The research also found heavy drinking linked to reduced risk of myocardial infarction and stable angina – but with increased risk of most other forms of cardiovascular disease.
The researchers from Cambridge University and University College, London, UK, analysed the electronic health records of 1.93 million healthy adults. Of these nearly 115,000 went on to receive a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.
The findings were reported in The BMJ.
Experts said the work opened the way for "ever larger and more sophisticated studies" of public health issues.
But Tracey Parker, from the British Heart Foundation, said: "It’s important to remember that the risks of drinking alcohol far outweigh any possible benefits. These findings are certainly no reason to start drinking alcohol if you don’t already.
“There are far more effective ways of improving your heart health such as regular exercise, a good diet and quitting smoking."
Association between clinically recorded alcohol consumption and initial presentation of 12 cardiovascular diseases: population based cohort study using linked health records BMJ 23 March 2017 [abstract]
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