One glass a day 'significantly' increases heart disease risk, study warns
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A study has warned that women who consume as little as a daily glass of wine and two at weekends are at a "significantly higher" risk of developing heart disease. American researchers found that women who consume more than eight alcoholic drinks a week were nearly 50 per cent more likely to develop the potentially fatal condition.
Binge drinkers of both sexes were also discovered to be at a much higher risk of heart disease. The 2024 study from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) - one of the largest ever conducted on the link between alcohol and coronary heart disease - cautioned that heavy-drinking young and middle-aged women were particularly at risk, regardless of their age.
Heart attacks and other forms of heart disease are currently increasing among younger generations in both the US and the UK. Coronary heart disease happens when the arteries supplying blood to the heart become narrowed, restricting blood flow.
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This condition can lead to chest pain and acute events such as heart attacks. Alcohol use and episodic drinking - or binge drinking - have also increased amongst female populations in recent decades.
Dr Jamal Rana, a cardiologist and lead author of the study, explained: "When it comes to binge drinking, both men and women with excess alcohol consumption had a higher risk of heart disease,", reports Surrey Live.
"For women, we find consistently higher risk even without binge drinking. I wasn't expecting these results among women in this lower age group because we usually see increased risk for heart disease among older women. It was definitely surprising."
Data from over 430,000 individuals who received care in the Kaiser Permanente Northern California integrated health organisation were utilised by researchers. Almost 243,000 men and 189,000 women, with an average age of 44 and free from heart disease at the start, formed the cohort under study.
During primary care consultations, information regarding alcohol consumption was gathered using the standard 'Alcohol as a Vital Sign' screening initiative of the health organisation, which employs visual reference charts to assist patients in gauging their alcohol quantity intakes in line with standard measurements. The team examined the link between the alcohol intake levels the patients reported during routine assessments in 2014 and 2015 and the occurrence of coronary heart disease over the next four years.
Participants' overall alcohol consumption was determined on the basis of self-reported assessments, classifying it as low (one to two drinks per week for both genders), moderate (three to 14 for men and three to seven for women weekly), or high (15 or more for men and eight or more weekly for women).
Each participant was categorised separately based on whether they engaged in binge drinking - defined as consuming more than four drinks for men or more than three drinks for women in a single day over the past three months. Those who reported no alcohol use were excluded from the study, and the data was adjusted to account for age, physical activity, smoking and other known cardiovascular risk factors.
During the four-year follow-up period, 3,108 patients were diagnosed with coronary heart disease. The researchers discovered that the incidence of coronary heart disease rose with higher levels of alcohol consumption.
Among women, those who reported high alcohol intake had a 45 per cent higher risk of heart disease compared to those reporting low intake, and a 29 per cent higher risk compared to those reporting moderate intake.
However, the most significant difference was found among individuals categorised as binge drinkers - with women in this category being a staggering two-thirds (68 per cent) more likely to develop heart disease compared to those with a moderate alcohol intake.
Men with high overall intake were also a third (33 per cent) more likely to develop heart disease compared with men who reported a moderate intake. The results showed no significant difference in risk between people who reported moderate versus low alcohol intake, regardless of whether they were also categorised as binge drinkers.
"Women feel they're protected against heart disease until they're older, but this study shows that even when you're young or middle-aged, if you are a heavy alcohol user or binge drink, you are at risk for coronary heart disease," Dr Rana explained.
Alcohol's effects can raise blood pressure and result in metabolic changes linked to inflammation and obesity, and as women metabolise alcohol differently than men, Dr Rana and his team have emphasised the health dangers of alcohol use and the need to factor it into heart disease risk assessments and prevention strategies.
"When it comes to heart disease, the number one thing that comes to mind is smoking, and we do not think about alcohol as one of the vital signs," Dr Rana remarked. "I think a lot more awareness is needed, and alcohol should be part of routine health assessments moving forward."
A key caveat of the study, which Dr Rana presented at the ACC's Annual Scientific Session in Atlanta, Georgia, on 6 April last year - is the common belief that patients downplay their alcohol consumption. Consequently, the researchers suggest that their findings regarding alcohol-linked heart disease risk may be 'conservative'.
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