Over the past few decades, several systematic studies and meta-analyses have been conducted to evaluate the relationship between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular diseases. Most of the studies suggest that moderate drinking is associated with a lower risk of developing heart diseases compared to non-drinkers and heavy drinkers.
The relationship between alcohol intake and cardiovascular diseases still remains an intricate and controversial topic to this day.
Some have pointed out several methodological limitations to those studies, which introduce both random and systematic measurement errors.
For instance, there is an overgeneralization of the non-drinking group. Past studies have failed to distinguish non-drinkers, who never consume alcohol, from former drinkers and occasional drinkers.
Other researchers have argued that former drinkers could have quit alcohol intake due to poor health, therefore creating the impression that non-drinkers are more susceptible to heart disease and leading to the overestimation of alcohol’s protective effects.
In a recent study conducted by Dr. Steven Bell and his colleagues from the University of Cambridge and University College London, researchers continued to explore the association between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular disease by using electronic health records.
The data of approximately 1.93 million adults over age 30 from CALIBER (ClinicAl research using LInked Bespoke studies and Electronic health Records). This paper was published by the British Medical Journal on March 22.
Dr. Kenneth Mukamal of Harvard Medical School and Dr. Mariana Lazo of the Bloomberg School of Public Health explained the wider implications of the study in an editorial paper they wrote.
“This work, however, sets the stage for even larger and more sophisticated studies that will attempt to harness the flood of big data into a stream of useful, reliable, and unbiased findings that can inform public health, clinical care, and the direction of future research,” they wrote.
Unlike previous studies, Bell and colleagues examined alcohol consumption in five different categories (non, formal, occasional, moderate and heavy drinkers) and initial presentation of 12 common symptoms of heart diseases shown during a patient’s lifetime, including chronic stable angina (chest pain), acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and heart failure, just to name a few.
Their results show that, when compared to moderate drinkers, non-drinkers have an increased risk of developing symptoms for unstable angina, myocardial infarction, unheralded coronary death, peripheral arterial disease and abdominal aortic aneurysm.
In other words, moderate drinkers have a lower risk to some but not all heart diseases.
According to the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS), moderate alcohol intake in the United Kingdom (UK) for men is 21 units or less and for women is 14 units or less. A unit is equal to eight grams of pure alcohol or 10 milliliters of pure ethanol.
Besides this study’s strength in its large sample size and specificity, it has multiple limitations as well. One error is the study’s omission to address the frequency of consumption.
It is not known where the subjects have an even drinking pattern or drink heavily in a less frequent fashion.
In addition, an individual’s amount of alcohol intake is based on self-reported measurements to health practitioners and nurses. Errors can be introduced when patients intentionally report less than their consumption or when health professionals misclassify patients due to personal bias.
Even though the researchers found that moderate drinkers were less likely to develop certain heart diseases than non-drinkers, they argue that it would not be ideal for individuals to start drinking alcohol as a means of lowering their heart disease risk because exercise and a healthy lifestyle are more effective options one can choose.
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