New research from the Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation suggests that the impact of alcohol consumption on coronary heart disease may be underestimated.
Although much of the literature to date on the subject suggests that risk is lower among current moderate drinkers than nondrinkers or heavy drinkers, the relationship between lifetime patterns of alcohol consumption and coronary heart disease remains unclear.
In this new retrospective case-control study, the researchers examined people hospitalized for heart attacks in western New York from 1996 - 2001 and interviewed them regarding their lifetime drinking patterns.
The results showed:
- Two distinct lifetime drinking trajectories: an early peak trajectory and a stable trajectory.
- Compared to stable lifetime drinking trajectories, early peak trajectories were characterized by less healthy drinking patterns: earlier onset of regular drinking, less frequent drinking, higher numbers of drinks per drinking day, more frequent drunkenness per drinking year, and reduction of alcohol intake or abstention by middle age.
- Heart attack rates were higher among early peak drinkers compared to stable lifetime drinkers for both male and female former drinkers and current female drinkers.
Key takeaways from this new research include:
- Binge drinking during adolescence and early adulthood may have long-term effects on the cardiovascular system that have not been recognized by previous epidemiological studies that only began assessing alcohol intake in people ages 35 years and older.
- Epidemiological research suggesting that moderate drinking has a protective effect on cardiovascular health needs to be reevaluated taking drinking during adolescence and emerging adulthood into consideration.
Says lead author, Dr. Marcia Russell: "This is the first time that drinking trajectories covering the entire lifespan, including adolescence and emerging adulthood, have been investigated with respect to nonfatal heart attacks."
###
Source: Russell, Marcia, Amy Z. Fan, Jo L. Freudenheim, Joan Dorn, and Maurizio Trevisan. "Lifetime Drinking Trajectories and Nonfatal Acute Myocardial Infarction." Alcoholism and Clinical Experimental Research. Published Online. 30 September 2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.14190
PIRE is an independent, nonprofit organization merging scientific knowledge and proven practice to create solutions that improve the health, safety and well-being of individuals, communities, and nations around the world. http://www.pire.org
The Prevention Research Center (PRC) of PIRE is one of 16 centers sponsored by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), of the National Institutes of Health, and is the only one that specializes in prevention. PRC's focus is on conducting research to better understand the social and physical environments that influence individual behavior that lead to alcohol and drug misuse. http://www.prev.org
The Resource Link for Community Action provides information and practical guidance to state and community agencies and organizations, policy makers, and members of the public who are interested in combating alcohol and other drug abuse and misuse. https://resources.prev.org/
Facebook: facebook.com/PrevResources
Twitter: twitter.com/PrevResources
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/PrevResources
If you would like more information about this topic, please call Sue Thomas at 831.429.4084 or email her at thomas.pire.org