In a new study from Massachusetts General Hospital, researchers found that moderate alcohol intake is linked to a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease when compared with individuals who abstain from drinking or partake in excessive drinking.
Moderate drinking is defined as no more than one alcoholic drink for women and two for men per day.
It’s also the first study to show that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol may be heart protective, in part, by reducing stress-related brain signals.
In the study, the team used data from the Mass General Brigham Biobank health care survey of 53,064 participants, of which 59.9% were women and the average age was 57.2 years.
Alcohol intake was based on self-report and was classified as low (<1 drink/week), moderate (1-14 drinks/week) or high (>14 drinks/week).
The team found 7,905 (15%) participants experienced a major adverse cardiovascular event: 17% in the low alcohol intake group and 13% in the moderate alcohol intake group.
People who reported moderate alcohol intake were found to have a 20% lower chance of having a major event compared to low alcohol intake. They also had lower stress-related brain activity.
The team cautions that these findings should not encourage alcohol use, but they could open doors to new therapies or prescribing stress-relieving activities like exercise or yoga to help minimize stress signals in the brain.
In a related study by the same research team, exercise was found to have a similar effect on brain activity as well as on the incidence of heart disease.
The team said exercise is associated with decreased stress-associated brain activity in a dose-dependent manner.
If you care about alcohol and your health, please read studies about the link between alcohol abuse and a big mental disorder and findings of even ‘low-risk’ alcohol drinking can be harmful.
For more information about alcohol and wellness, please see recent studies about this vitamin deficiency may lead to alcohol-related dementia and results showing that this high blood pressure drug may reduce alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The study was presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 70th Annual Scientific Session. One author of the study is Kenechukwu Mezue, MD.
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