Latest scientific news 13 December 2017

Moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages may be advantageous for diabetics

The results of this review show that moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages can generally reduce the risk of developing diabetes and improve the cardiovascular health of individuals with diabetes.

In the past, many studies have examined whether alcohol consumption confers benefits to people with existing diabetes or to individuals at risk.

Recently, US scientists reviewed 96 studies and summarized their results about the risk of developing diabetes at varying levels of alcohol consumption as well as the effects on cardiovascular heath of diabetics consuming alcoholic beverages. Despite various inconsistencies across these studies, the authors were able to draw the following clear conclusions:

  • Moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages generally reduces diabetes risk.
  • Regular moderate alcohol consumption is less common among diabetics compared to the general population.
  • Among diabetics, intake of alcoholic beverages is more common among younger individuals and men.
  • Binge drinkingBinge drinking (consuming rapidly four or more alcoholic drinks over a short period of time) has bee... occurs more often among male diabetics.
  • A U-shaped or J-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular disease appears to be the most common association among individuals with diabetes.
  • Light-to-moderate drinking of alcoholic beverages decreases all-cause mortality among adult diabetics, especially for men.

Polsky S, Akturk HK. Alcohol Consumption, Diabetes Risk, and Cardiovascular Disease Within Diabetes. Curr Diab Rep. 2017 Nov 4;17(12):136.

For more information about this article, read the scientific abstract here.