According
to new research from the University of Cambridge, regularly drinking
more than the recommended UK guidelines for alcohol could take years off your
life. The study compared the health and drinking habits of over
600,000 people in 19 countries worldwide and controlled for age, smoking,
history of diabetes, level of education and occupation.
The upper safe limit of
drinking was about five drinks per week (100g of pure alcohol, 12.5 units or
just over five pints of 4% ABV beer or five 175ml glasses of 13% ABV wine).
However, drinking above this limit was linked with lower life expectancy.
Alcohol
consumption was associated with a higher risk of stroke, heart failure, fatal
aortic aneurysms, fatal hypertensive disease and heart failure and there were
no clear thresholds where drinking less did not have a benefit.
Cardiovascular
disease may relate to alcohol's elevating effects on blood pressure and on
factors related to elevated high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (also
known as 'good' cholesterol). Alcohol
consumption is associated with a slightly lower risk of non-fatal heart attacks
but this must be balanced against the higher risk associated with other serious
and potentially fatal cardiovascular diseases.
If you
already drink alcohol, drinking less may help you live longer and lower your
risk of several cardiovascular conditions.
1.
Ref. Angela M Wood
et al. Risk thresholds for alcohol consumption: combined analysis of
individual-participant data for 599 912 current drinkers in 83 prospective
studies. The Lancet, 2018; 391 (10129): 1513 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30134-X
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