Modest Alcohol Consumption Reduces Risk of Stroke in Men
Modest Alcohol Consumption Reduces Risk of Stroke in Men
Nov. 17, 1999 (New York) -- Drinking one to seven alcoholic beverages per week can significantly reduce middle-aged and older men's risk of having a stroke, according to a study published in the Nov. 18 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Compared with men who reported consuming less than one alcoholic drink per week, those that had one to seven drinks per week had a 21% reduction in all types of stroke. Strokes caused by ischemia had a reduction of 23%. Ischemic stroke -- stroke caused by obstruction of the blood supply in the brain -- accounts for about 85% of the more than 1 million strokes occurring in the United States each year.
The new study concludes that consuming one drink per week, two to four drinks per week, five or six drinks per week, or one or more drinks per day (seven or more per week), translates to reductions in risk of stroke of 22%, 25%, 17%, and 20%, respectively.
"The important thing is that you don't need large amounts of alcohol to get the benefit," co-author Julie E. Buring, ScD, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, tells WebMD. "These data clearly show that there is no more protective effect if you increase the amount of alcohol or the number of times you drink."
During the 12 years of the study, Buring and colleagues recorded more than 650 strokes in almost 22,000 male physicians participating in the Physicians' Health Study. The Physician's Health Study is a large investigation which began in 1982 to examine the effect of low-dose aspirin on heart disease and the effect of beta-carotene supplements on the risk of cancer. The men were between the ages of 40 and 84 at the start of the study 17 years ago.
The researchers did not seek to determine whether certain types of alcoholic beverages (i.e. beer, wine, spirits) were more beneficial than others, and studies that have tried to discern this have not been conclusive. For the most part, physicians have been reluctant to encourage or condone drinking any type of alcohol as a preventive measure against disease. In an editorial accompanying the new study, two researchers from the University Hospital of Grenoble in France say the health benefits of light-to-moderate drinking should be weighed against the risks of damage to the liver, gastrointestinal tract, nervous system, and heart.
Modest Alcohol Consumption Reduces Risk of Stroke in Men
Nov. 17, 1999 (New York) -- Drinking one to seven alcoholic beverages per week can significantly reduce middle-aged and older men's risk of having a stroke, according to a study published in the Nov. 18 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Compared with men who reported consuming less than one alcoholic drink per week, those that had one to seven drinks per week had a 21% reduction in all types of stroke. Strokes caused by ischemia had a reduction of 23%. Ischemic stroke -- stroke caused by obstruction of the blood supply in the brain -- accounts for about 85% of the more than 1 million strokes occurring in the United States each year.
The new study concludes that consuming one drink per week, two to four drinks per week, five or six drinks per week, or one or more drinks per day (seven or more per week), translates to reductions in risk of stroke of 22%, 25%, 17%, and 20%, respectively.
"The important thing is that you don't need large amounts of alcohol to get the benefit," co-author Julie E. Buring, ScD, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, tells WebMD. "These data clearly show that there is no more protective effect if you increase the amount of alcohol or the number of times you drink."
During the 12 years of the study, Buring and colleagues recorded more than 650 strokes in almost 22,000 male physicians participating in the Physicians' Health Study. The Physician's Health Study is a large investigation which began in 1982 to examine the effect of low-dose aspirin on heart disease and the effect of beta-carotene supplements on the risk of cancer. The men were between the ages of 40 and 84 at the start of the study 17 years ago.
The researchers did not seek to determine whether certain types of alcoholic beverages (i.e. beer, wine, spirits) were more beneficial than others, and studies that have tried to discern this have not been conclusive. For the most part, physicians have been reluctant to encourage or condone drinking any type of alcohol as a preventive measure against disease. In an editorial accompanying the new study, two researchers from the University Hospital of Grenoble in France say the health benefits of light-to-moderate drinking should be weighed against the risks of damage to the liver, gastrointestinal tract, nervous system, and heart.
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