Alcohol Cuts Risk for Heart Disease by One Third

According to results in the Spanish cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) trial, Spanish men who drink alcohol have a reduced incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD).

The purpose of the study was to explore the association between alcohol intake and CHD risk. Over 15,000 men and over 25,000 women who were CHD-free were evaluated for a 10-year period using a dietary history questionnaire. Participants were questioned on the amount of alcohol they drank daily or weekly during the 12-month period just prior to starting the study. They also answered questions about their lifestyles, including how much they exercised, if they smoked, were overweight, had high cholesterol and other information that would be associated with potential risk factors for heart disease.

During the 10-year follow-up period of evaluation, 609 participants had coronary events with an incidence rate of about 300 of 100,000 person-years for men and 48 of 100,000 person-years for women.

When the researchers compared the incidence of coronary events with the participants levels of alcohol consumption (adjusted for different body types and lifestyles), they discovered that men with moderate to high alcohol consumption had fewer coronary events than those with low alcohol consumption. A similar correlation was found in the women participants.

According to the study authors: "Alcohol intake in men aged 29-69 years was associated with a more than 30% lower CHD incidence."

For more information, see the Abstract published online in Heart, November 19, 2009.