Regularly drinking more than recommended alcohol guidelines can take years off your life, new research from the University of Cambridge shows. The research shows that drinking alcohol is associated with a higher risk of stroke, fatal aneurysm, heart failure and death. The authors say their findings disprove the widely held belief that moderate drinking is beneficial for cardiovascular health.
The study compared the health and drinking habits of more than 600,000 people in 19 countries around the world and checked for age, smoking, history of diabetes, education level and occupation. The upper safe limit of drinking was about five drinks per week (100g pure alcohol, 12.5 units or just over five pints of 4% beer or five 175ml glasses of 13% wine). However, drinking above this limit was linked to a lower life expectancy. For example, having 10 or more drinks per week was linked to one to two years shorter life expectancy. Having 18 drinks or more per week was linked to a four to five year reduction in life expectancy.
The researchers also looked at the association between alcohol consumption and different types of cardiovascular disease. Alcohol consumption was associated with a higher risk of stroke, heart failure, fatal aortic aneurysms, fatal hypertension and heart failure and there were no clear thresholds at which drinking less was not beneficial. In contrast, alcohol consumption was associated with a slightly lower risk of non-fatal heart attacks.
The authors note that the various links between alcohol intake and different types of cardiovascular disease may relate to the elevating effects of alcohol on blood pressure and to factors associated with elevated high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (also known as as 'good' cholesterol). They emphasize that the lower risk of a non-fatal heart attack should be considered in the context of the increased risk of several other serious and often fatal cardiovascular diseases.
