Moderate drinkers seem at lower risk for cardiovascular disease and lower mortality from all causes

Australian researchers conducted a study on the risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality associated with the consumption of alcoholic beverages in initially healthy, older individuals. They found that moderate drinking was related to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and a lower mortality from all causes when compared to no abstaining.

19,114 community-dwelling individuals in Australia and the USA over the age of 70 were followed over a period of four years. The information about their intake of alcoholic beverages was received via questionnaire and former alcohol consumers who may have stopped drinking for various health reasons were excluded. The results suggested that moderate drinkers had a significantly reduced risk of cardiovascular disease compared to those participants who never consumed any alcoholic beverage, regardless of gender.

The authors warned, however, that the findings need to be interpreted with caution, as the participants were all initially healthy without prior incidence of cardiovascular disease or other severe diseases and may have been more physically and socially active than the wider ageing population.

Source: Johannes T Neumann, Rosanne Freak-Poli, Suzanne G Orchard, Rory Wolfe, Christopher M Reid, Andrew M Tonkin, Lawrence J Beilin, John J McNeil, Joanne Ryan, Robyn L Woods, Alcohol consumption and risks of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in healthy older adults, European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 2021;, zwab177, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwab177

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