▎ WuXi AppTec content team editor
Wine, this special drink, has been around in China for thousands of years.
Nowadays, white wine, rice wine, beer, red wine... It has become an "essential drink" for many people to gather with relatives and friends and work, no wine, no banquet, no wine and no joy.
Although numerous studies have confirmed that drinking alcohol is harmful to health. But there are still many people who believe that drinking less and not drinking more is not only harmless to health, but will soften blood vessels and promote cardiovascular health.
But is that really the case? More and more research is finding that drinking more or less is harmful to cardiovascular health! According to a new study published in jama Network Open, a sub-issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, small amounts of alcohol consumption also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke, etc.; and as the amount of alcohol consumed increases, the risk increases.
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Researchers from institutions such as the MIT-Harvard Broad Institute analyzed data from the UK biobank and included 371463 participants. Their average age was 57 years, of which 46% (172,400) were male.
The researchers counted basic information such as age and gender of the participants, lifestyle information such as alcohol consumption, smoking status, meat and vegetable consumption, body mass index (BMI) and physical activity, and measured the participants' blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides, apolipoprotein A and B, γ-glutamyltransferase levels, and C-reactive protein levels.
In addition, the researchers also counted the participants' disease information on 6 types of cardiovascular disease, including hypertension, coronary artery disease (CAD), myocardial infarction (myocardial infarction), stroke, heart failure (heart failure), and atrial fibrillation (atrial fibrillation).
The statistical results showed that all participants drank an average of 9.2 drinks per week (1 cup contained 14 g of alcohol), with the most common liquor being beer, followed by red wine. Among the participants, 32.76% had hypertension, 7.45% had coronary artery disease, 3.9% had myocardial infarction, 2.34% had stroke, 1.56% had myocardial infarction, and 3.87% had atrial fibrillation.
The researchers' analysis found that people with moderate (>8.4-15.4 cups/week), severe (>15.4-24.5 cups/week), and alcoholism (>24.5 cups/week) were significantly more at risk of cardiovascular disease than those who abstained from alcohol or did not drink alcohol (0 cups/week). And as the amount of alcohol consumed increases, the more the risk increases. However, people who drank alcohol mildly (>0-8.4 cups/week) had a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
However, the researchers also found that people who drank lightly had healthier lifestyles, such as more physical activity, vegetable consumption, lower body mass index, and virtually no smoking, compared to those who quit or did not drink alcohol.
If these healthy lifestyle effects were removed, the researchers found that the benefits of light alcohol consumption for cardiovascular health were significantly reduced. The researchers say people mistakenly believe that light drinking can bring health benefits, but in fact it may be because people who drink lightly adhere to a healthier lifestyle.
At the same time, the researchers also used Mendelian randomization analysis methods to analyze whether there is a causal relationship between different amounts of alcohol consumption and cardiovascular disease risk through genetic data.
The results of the linear Mendelian randomization analysis showed that every 1 cup/day increase in alcohol consumption was associated with an increase of 28%, 38%, 37%, 39%, 26%, and 24% of the risk of hypertension, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation, respectively.
In addition, the results of the nonlinear Mendelian randomization analysis also showed:
When the amount of alcohol consumed per week increased from 0 to 7, the increased risk of different types of cardiovascular disease was relatively small;
And when the amount of alcohol consumed per week increased from 7 to 14, the risk increased even more;
The risk is particularly high when drinking 21 or more drinks per week.
▲ Participants with different alcohol consumption, drinking 1 more drink per day was associated with an increased risk of 6 cardiovascular diseases. (Source: References[1]; Drafting: WuXi AppTec Content Team)
The study concludes by highlighting that human genetic evidence suggests a causal relationship between alcohol consumption and the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and coronary artery disease, even if it is a light drink and a little less alcohol, and that the associated risk may increase exponentially as alcohol consumption increases.
At the same time, the results of the study also show that a healthy lifestyle helps to reduce the impact of drinking alcohol on cardiovascular disease, and for those who have drinking habits, they should adhere to a more healthy lifestyle to reduce the harm of drinking. Of course, not drinking alcohol is the best option.
Study corresponding author Dr Krishna G. Aragam of the MIT-Harvard Broad Institute noted: "This study tells us that we should not improve cardiovascular health by drinking alcohol; conversely, drinking less, preferably without, will reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in all people." ”
In addition to increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, drinking alcohol is more harmful to health. The World Heart Federation (WHF) notes that there are about 230 diseases associated with drinking alcohol, including 40 diseases that would not be prevalent without alcohol:
Alcohol consumption is associated with diseases associated with organs such as the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, stomach, breast, colon and rectum;
Alcohol consumption is associated with a range of mental illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, etc.;
Alcohol consumption has also been linked to adverse outcomes for infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, AIDS, etc.;
Alcohol consumption also has many significant social impacts and has been linked to negative outcomes such as motor vehicle accidents, injuries, and family discord.
In addition, both alcohol and alcoholic beverages have been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a Class 1 carcinogen (determined to be carcinogenic to humans) and are associated with an increased risk of multiple cancers. Drinking alcohol increases harmful chemicals in the body, causes DNA damage, and affects hormone production, which can lead to the development of cancer. At the same time, alcohol also exacerbates the carcinogenic effects of other substances, such as tobacco.
The Lancet Oncology published a large study analyzing the global cancer burden caused by alcohol consumption. The results showed that 4.1% (741,300) of new cancers worldwide in 2020 could be attributed to alcohol consumption, and even moderate alcohol consumption (about 2 drinks per day) led to more than 100,000 new cancers a year, of which an average intake of 10 g of alcohol per day led to 41,300 new cancers.
In terms of cancer types, among the new alcohol-related cancers, the most absolute cases are esophageal cancer (189,700 cases) and liver cancer (154,700 cases), followed by breast cancer (98,300 cases) and colon cancer (91,500 cases).
In terms of the proportion of new cases of different types of cancer attributable to alcohol, esophageal cancer (31.6%), pharyngeal cancer (22.0%), and lip and oral cancer (20.2%) had the highest proportion of new cases caused by alcohol consumption.
All in all, more and more research shows that there is no safe dose of drinking alcohol, even if it is a small amount of alcohol, it can change physiological function over the years and affect health. We should recognize the harm of drinking, try to drink as little or no drink, and adhere to more healthy lifestyles, which will not only help reduce the harm caused by drinking, but also better promote health and prolong life.