Moderate drinking is linked to a relatively low risk of diabetes, Danish researchers report today.
Red wine shows a particularly strong link with reduced risk, according to the report in the journal Diabetologia.
Researchers found that people who drank up to four days a week enjoyed a 30% reduced risk of diabetes compared with those who hardly drink at all.
Similarly a woman who consumed nine units of alcohol a week was found to have a 58% less risk than a teetotal woman.
The study involved an analysis of survey data from more than 70,000 people of whom more than 1,700 developed diabetes.
The researchers sought to account for factors such as body mass index, quality of diet and time spent on leisure.
Researcher Professor Janne Tolstrup, of the University of Southern Denmark, said it was possible that polyphenols in wine had a protective effect.
It was not clear whether the study eliminated the possibility that not drinking alcohol might be linked to increased consumption of sugary foods.
The researchers write: "Our findings suggest that alcohol drinking frequency is associated with the risk of diabetes and that consumption of alcohol over three to four weekdays is associated with the lowest risks of diabetes, even after taking average weekly alcohol consumption into account."
Alcohol drinking patterns and risk of diabetes: a cohort study of 70,551 men and women from the general Danish population Diabetologia 27 July 2017 [abstract]
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