New research shows that young to middle-aged women who consumed more than one alcoholic beverage a day were 29% to 45% more likely to develop coronary heart disease

Having More Than 1 Alcoholic Drink a Day Raises Heart Disease Risk—Especially for Women Because women and men metabolize alcohol differently, women are especially at risk

New research shows that young to middle-aged women who consumed more than one alcoholic beverage a day were 29% to 45% more likely to develop coronary heart disease

• Research has found that young to middle-aged women who consumed more than one alcoholic beverage a day were 29% to 45% more likely to develop coronary heart disease
• Women who binge drink or consume three or more alcoholic beverages a day were 68% more likely to develop coronary heart disease
• Because women and men metabolize alcohol differently, women are especially at risk

Young and middle-aged adults who reported high alcohol intake—at least 15 drinks a week for men and eight for women—were more likely to develop coronary heart disease compared to those who consumed less, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session on April 6.

The association was particularly strong for women—especially for those who said they drank three or more alcoholic beverages in a single day in the past three months. 

Coronary heart disease occurs when a fatty substance called plaque builds up in the arteries that supply blood to the heart, restricting blood flow. The condition is the most common form of heart disease, which is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. 

“There has been an increasing prevalence of alcohol use among young and middle-aged women as women may feel they’re protected against heart disease until they’re older,” lead study author Jamal Rana, MD, a cardiologist with the Permanente Medical Group, told Health. “But this study shows that even in that age group, women who drink more than the recommended amount of one drink per day or tend to binge drink are at risk for coronary heart disease.”

Finding the Link Between Alcohol Consumption and Heart Disease

Rana said a couple of factors influenced his team’s decision to examine the relationship between alcohol use and heart health.

“There has long been this idea that alcohol is good for the heart—but more and more evidence is challenging that notion,” he said. “Also, past studies that compared people who drink alcohol with people who abstain from drinking alcohol could not completely account for bias.” 

He cited the “sick quitter” phenomenon, in which data becomes skewed because people who stopped drinking due to health problems become lumped in with other “non-drinkers.”

To avoid this bias, his team designed a study looking at multiple levels of alcohol use. They pulled data from about 189,000 women and 243,000 men aged 18 to 65 who received care at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California integrated health organization between 2014 and 2015. The patients, none of whom had a history of heart disease or stroke at the time, were asked about their alcohol consumption during a primary care visit as part of a Kaiser alcohol screening initiative.

Using federal standards, researchers classified the participants’ alcohol consumption as either low (one to two weekly drinks for men and women), moderate (three to 14 weekly drinks for men and three to seven drinks for women), or high (15 or more drinks for men and eight or more drinks for women per week). (Rana’s team excluded people from the study who reported no alcohol use.)

They also separately categorized them as non-binge drinkers or binge drinkers, defined as having either more than four drinks (for men) or three drinks (for women) in a single day in the past three months.

Researchers followed up with participants for four years. Overall, 3,108 of the patients were diagnosed with coronary heart disease during that time frame.

The team found that men who reported high alcohol intake were 22% more likely to develop heart disease compared with men whose intake was moderate. On the other hand, women with high intake had a 29% to 45% greater risk of heart disease than their moderately drinking counterparts.

The risk was exceptionally high for people who reported binge drinking; women who fell into this category were 68% more likely to develop heart disease compared with women who said they drank moderately.

“These findings suggest that we need to be educating women about potential heart risks associated with binge drinking,” Rana said. “Our findings also underscore how important it is for health care providers to ask women not only how often they drink but if they binge drink.

Rana acknowledged, however, that the study’s findings might be limited because people don’t always accurately report their drinking habits.

What’s Behind the Connection?

Sean Heffron, MD, a cardiologist at the Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease at NYU Langone Heart, told Health that excessive alcohol consumption may influence blood pressure, cholesterol levels, heart rate, and rhythm.

“All these impacts tend to be dose responsive, meaning depending upon the amount of alcohol, you can have variations in how each of these factors respond and whether it’s a positive or a negative,” Heffron said.

Women may be more susceptible to the long-term adverse effects of alcohol because they are typically smaller than men, making them more affected by a can of beer or a glass of wine than a man who drinks the same. They also metabolize alcohol, as well as deposit and store fat, differently than men.

What Causes Coronary Heart Disease?

Established risk factors for coronary heart disease include being overweight, having a sedentary lifestyle, eating an unhealthy diet, and smoking. Having someone in your family who had heart disease, especially if they were young, also raises your odds of developing it.

Heffron said that to assess your chances of developing coronary heart disease, you should know the numbers that help determine your risk. These include your blood pressure, blood sugar level, cholesterol, and body mass index. You should also know if you have a family history of heart disease.

This story originally appeared on: Health News - Author:Lauryn Higgins