According to a new study published on Thursday, consuming one or two glasses of alcohol a day could increase the risk of stroke.
Challenging previous claims that moderate drinking may protect one from strokes and other diseases, this new genetic study published in The Lancet finds that even low levels of alcohol consumption can increase the risk of strokes.
The study comes after some researchers published last year that there is no healthy level of drinking alcohol.
The new study has found that just one to two drinks a day increased the risk of stroke by 10% to 15%, while four drinks a day increased the risk of stroke by 35%.
Please note that one drink was referred to either a small glass of wine, a bottle of beer, or a single measure of spirits.
Study co-author Zhengming Chen said, “There are no protective effects of moderate alcohol intake against stroke. Even moderate alcohol consumption increases the chances of having a stroke. The findings for heart attack were less clear-cut, so we plan to collect more evidence.”
The scientists from Peking University, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and the University of Oxford have said that they found the impact of alcohol on stroke by studying more than 500,000 Chinese people for approximately 10 years.
After analyzing them, the researchers found common genetic variants that reduce alcohol tolerance, as they experienced an extremely unpleasant flushing reaction after alcohol consumption. These genetic variants greatly reduce the amount people drink; however, they are not related to other lifestyle factors, including smoking.
Many researchers agreed with the study’s findings, but some pointed out plausible shortcomings.
Tim Chico, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Sheffield, said, “This study uses a novel genetic approach to try to determine the effect of alcohol consumption on risk of cardiovascular disease.”
He added, “Although it has previously been suggested moderate alcohol intake may reduce risk of stroke or heart disease, this new study adds to recent evidence that finds no protective effect even at low levels of intake. Sadly the hope that alcohol somehow protects against cardiovascular disease is probably unfounded.”
Dr. Stephen Burgess from the University of Cambridge highlighted limitations to the new study, stating that it only examined Chinese people and focused on spirits, not wine. He said, “There is no cardiovascular benefit of light drinking and that risk of stroke increases even with moderate light alcohol consumption.” David Spiegelhalter of the University of Cambridge said the new study had raised a few doubts about his previous theories. He said, “I have always been reasonably convinced that moderate alcohol consumption was protective for cardiovascular disease, but now I am having my doubts.”
