One beer or wine a day could be doing you good
The health effects of excessive booze consumption are well known, but some evidence suggests moderate alcohol intake is good for the heart.
Victoria
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Older adults who have a beer or wine each day appear to be protecting themselves from heart disease, a landmark research project has uncovered.
The Monash University-led study of 18,000 adults aged in their mid-70s found a sweet spot of five to 10 standard drinks a week led to these adults having a much smaller chance of dying from any cause, compared with those who are teetotal.
The health effects of excessive alcohol consumption are well known, and include an increased risk of cancers, heart disease, dementia, stroke and liver failure.
Although there had been some evidence to suggest moderate alcohol intake is good for the heart, lead researcher Associate Professor Robyn Woods from the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said the focus had only been on younger adults.
“People, who as they get older and are in pretty good health, should they drink alcohol or not, and how much? Is moderate best? It’s an important question people want answered,” Prof Woods said.
“We are very confident to say that moderate alcohol intake does not appear to do harm in older people regarding cardiovascular disease and also for all-cause mortality.”
The researchers followed participants in the groundbreaking ASPREE trial, Asp-irin in Reducing Events in the Elderly study, which investigates the health effect of low-dose aspirin in healthy older adults.
The adults, with an average age of 74, were followed for just over 4½ years. When comparing their self-reported alcohol consumption with their health, all groups who drank more than five drinks a week showed a much lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
“It’s that range of five to 10 standard drinks a week where we saw real benefit for reducing the mortality risk, but also on cardiovascular disease,” Prof Woods said.
“There are potentially some vascular effects of modest amounts of alcohol intake, but there is also the potential benefits of socialisation that often comes with modest intake.”
The findings are published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
Given that less than 9 per cent of participants reported drinking more than 15 standard drinks a week – deemed “risky” consumption – she said they could not draw a strong conclusion about a potential heart health benefit for this group.
Further, because participants had to be in very good health when they joined the trial, Prof Woods said there may not be health benefits from alcohol for older adults already in poor health.
The ASPREE study has been funded to keep following 12,000 participants, now with an average age of 82, to track their health.