THERE’S no shortage of scientific studies reporting on the health benefits and harms of alcohol. The latest such research reports that just one glass of alcohol a day can raise blood pressure, and thus be harmful to cardiovascular health – even in people who do not suffer from high blood pressure.
A new international study reveals that just one alcoholic drink a day can damage cardiovascular health by raising blood pressure.
Published in Hypertension, a journal of the American Heart Association, this research is based on data from seven studies involving more than 19,500 adults aged 20 to 70 in the USA, Korea and Japan.
They reveal a link between an increase in blood pressure over the years and the number of alcoholic beverages consumed daily, even in people who do not suffer from hypertension. The study goes even further, pointing out that just one alcoholic drink a day can raise blood pressure.
Limiting alcohol consumption
"We found no beneficial effects in adults who drank a low level of alcohol compared to those who did not drink alcohol. We were somewhat surprised to see that consuming an already-low level of alcohol was also linked to higher blood pressure changes over time compared to no consumption – although far less than the blood pressure increase seen in heavy drinkers," explains in a statement the study's senior author, Marco Vinceti, MD, PhD, a professor at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and an adjunct professor at Boston University.
In detail, the researchers compared the health data of adults who drank alcohol regularly with those who did not, spanning an average of more than five years.
They found that those who consumed an average of 12 grams of alcohol a day – the equivalent of about one glass of wine – saw their systolic blood pressure rise by 1.25 millimeters of mercury (mmHg), compared with 4.9 mmHg for those who consumed an average of 48 grams a day. However, the scientists note that these associations were seen in males but not in females.
"Alcohol is certainly not the sole driver of increases in blood pressure; however, our findings confirm it contributes in a meaningful way. Limiting alcohol intake is advised, and avoiding it is even better," concludes Marco Vinceti.
Worldwide, more than 3 million deaths were attributable to alcohol abuse in 2016, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). – ETX Daily Up, August 3, 2023
