Could Drinking Beer Twice A Week Lower Risk of Heart Attack?

Findings from a nearly 50-year-long Swedish study demonstrated that women who consume a moderate amount of beer have a 30% decreased risk of heart attack compared to heavy drinkers and women who never consumed beer.

For the study, 1500 women reported the frequency of their alcohol consumption (beer, wine, or spirits) on a scale that ranged from “daily” to “nothing in the past 10 years.”
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RELATED CONTENT
How Safe Is Alcohol for Patients With Diabetes?
Moderate Alcohol Consumption Alters Cardiac Structure
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Over a 32-year follow-up period, 185 women experienced a heart attack, 162 had a stroke, 160 manifested diabetes, and 345 women developed cancer.

Overall, the study revealed that women who drank at least 2 beers a month, but no more than 2 a week, had a 30% lower risk of heart attack than women who drank several times per week or never drank.

“The risk of myocardial infarction was partly negatively associated with the level of drinking, but higher consumption also conferred a lower risk. However, when level of alcohol consumption increased even further, the risk increased to a level twice as high among women as among men.” they wrote.

The results also highlighted a significant link between frequent (>1 or 2 times per month) consumption of spirits and a near 50% heightened risk of mortality due to cancer, compared to those who drank infrequently, and a link between occasional wine consumption and a lower risk of developing diabetes.

“Adding up the results from this present study, the discrepant associations with different endpoints illustrate the existing difficulties in considering any plain health-promotion recommendations on alcohol intake in women,” they concluded.

-Michelle Canales Butcher

Reference:
University of Gothenburg. Women with moderate beer consumption run lower risk of heart attack. September 10, 2015. http://sahlgrenska.gu.se/english/research/news-article/women-with-moderate-beer-consumption-run-lower-risk-of-heart-attack.cid1321456. Accessed September 24, 2015.