Journal Club - Too much alcohol consumption increased cardiovascular risk

A new study in JAMA Network Open shows the observed benefit in individuals with light to moderate alcohol intake, which is consistently shown in epidemiological studies, is likely due to other positive lifestyle factors that are common in these individuals. All levels of alcohol were linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Rather, light alcohol intake was associated with modest risk, but there were exponential increases in cardiovascular risk with increasing amounts of alcohol consumptio

Study Data were analyzed from 371,463 participants who consumed an average of 9.2 standard drinks per week. Of these participants, 33% had hypertension, and 7.5% had coronary artery disease.

As the risk gradient appeared to increase quite sharply even between 1 and 2 drinks per day, researchers suggested that what might be regarded as safe levels of drinking may trend downward in the future.