Is even light drinking harmful? Experts make shocking revelations
Contrary to popular belief, is even a little amount of alcohol consumption harmful to one's health? A recent study suggests that there’s no amount of alcohol consumption that is safe for overall health.
As per the study, led by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), published in the journal 'Clinical Nutrition', drinking less than the UK's recommended limit of 14 units of alcohol per week still increases the risk of cardiovascular problems or diseases.
ARU researchers used data from the UK Biobank study to look at hospitalisation associated with cardiovascular events among more than 350,000 UK citizens aged 40 to 69.
A total of 333,259 people who consumed alcohol were included in the study. Participants were quizzed on their general weekly alcohol consumption as well as their intake of specific types of alcohol such as beer, wine, and spirits.
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Those who took part in the study were tracked for a median of seven years, documenting all episodes in which patients were hospitalised due to cardiovascular problems.
Anyone who had previously experienced a cardiovascular event, as well as former drinkers and those who had not completed the alcohol intake questionnaire, were excluded from the study.
The study found that for people who consumed less than 14 units of alcohol per week, which is the recommended limit by the UK's Chief Medical Officers, each additional 1.5 pints of beer at 4% strength (alcohol by volume) was linked to a 23% greater chance of having a cardiovascular event.
According to the authors, flaws in current epidemiological evidence have led to widespread adoption of the "J-shaped curve," which incorrectly suggests that low to moderate alcohol use is beneficial to cardiovascular health.
Dr Rudolph Schutte, the lead author and course leader for the BSc Hons Medical Science programme at ARU, said, "The so-called J-shaped curve of the cardiovascular disease-alcohol consumption relationship suggesting health benefit from low to moderate alcohol consumption is the biggest myth since we were told smoking was good for us."
"Among drinkers of beer, cider and spirits in particular, even those consuming under 14 units a week had an increased risk of ending up in hospital through a cardiovascular event involving the heart or the blood vessels. While we hear much about wine drinkers having a lower risk of coronary artery disease, our data shows their risk of other cardiovascular events is not reduced," he adds.
He further said, "Biases embedded in epidemiological evidence mask or underestimate the hazards associated with alcohol consumption. When these biases are accounted for, the adverse effects of even low-level alcohol consumption are revealed."
"Avoiding these biases in future research would mitigate current confusion and hopefully lead to a strengthening of the guidelines, seeing the current alcohol guidance reduced," he added.
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-PTC News
